Underestimated
by sephyobsessed
Summary: Sakura is severely hurt during a mission. After the fact, she must rely on her team leader to help her recover. KakaSaku. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Trouble

Chapter 1: trouble

The alarm's prevalent sound filled the room, startling the kunoichi awake from her sleep. She followed her usual morning routine: shower, dress, fix her hair, and other miscellaneous tasks to prepare for her day.

Sakura Haruno was nineteen years of age now, and she was living on her own as a Chuunin level ninja in Konoha. It had been almost seven years since the day Sasuke left, and he still hasn't returned. There were a couple of run-ins with him here and there, however he had gotten away each and every time.

She had developed into a young woman, with small curves and muscular tone on her frame. She had worked hard, praying that she could change Sasuke's mind about revenge, but it seemed to have faded since then. Sakura had convinced herself that she didn't love him anymore. How could she? He never reciprocated any of the feelings she had for him.

Her roseate hair was it's usual shoulder length. She never planned on growing it out again, especially since she had originally grown it out for one, she knew, she would probably never see again. Her Konoha hitae was in its usual position upon her head, and she had made it a point to ensure it was clean every time she wore it. Her body was adorned with her red shirt, family symbol included, black shorts, crème overlain skirt, and her weapons pouch tied securely to her right leg.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. It had been more than a week since her last mission and the scar that was on her neck was still there. She didn't expect that clumsy mist ninja she was out to arrest to aim for her, especially since Naruto was loud mouthing and charging straight at him.

Her mouth twitched at the edges as a smile crept on her face, making it almost impossible to hide the fact that she was laughing. She had remembered the first time she saw Naruto fight against Kakashi-sensei: charging in first, talking big the entire time, yet he still failed to retrieve a bell as he promised he would do.

She glanced over to the clock: 7:30 am. _Oh no! I need to get going!_ She rushed out of her door, running the entire way to the training grounds.

By the time she arrived, Sai and Naruto were already there, sparring against each other to keep themselves busy. The blond ninja glanced over to the pink-haired kunoichi and smiled, allowing Sai to find an opening and knocking him flat on his back.

"OW! Sai that was unfair! You know that we take a break when others get here." He started getting huffy and walked over to Sakura to greet her. His goofy smile seemed to never change, but the rest of him did. His body was more muscular, and his face showed age finding it's way to him.

_Naruto has grown up_. He was almost a foot taller than she was with slightly shorter hair. The spikes were still present, but not as fluffy at it was in their team seven days. He scratched the back of his head and laughed. It was a deeper tone than how he sounded years before, naturally. Somehow, Sakura had gotten used to a more mature Naruto, physically at least. It seemed like he would probably be a kid at heart for the rest of his life, but it wasn't a bad thing. Naruto was meant to be silly.

Sai had walked over to Sakura to say hello. He was the replacement for Sasuke, and, though Sakura didn't agree replacing Sasuke at first, she had also grown fond of Sai. He was a good enough replacement: strong, dedicated, serious, and a great ninja. She rarely had to tend to any of his injuries, due to the fact that he never had any, and she knew that he'd be more concerned with others before himself, every time.

He was muscular and occasionally would smile, similar to how Sasuke would only smile certain times. Sai was more emotional than the previous team 7 member, allowing himself to have fun and interact with Naruto and Sakura.

A cloud of smoke had appeared behind Sakura and Naruto's mouth had open wide to yell at his former sensei, " You're LATE!" Sakura giggled and turned around to see Kakashi-sensei scratching the back of his head, smiling underneath his mask.

"Sorry, I uh… got lost on the path of life."

With that response Naruto exploded and pointed furiously at the silver haired nin, "You say that EVERY time! How many paths of life can you get lost on?!" With that response Kakashi closed his eye and smiled. Sakura had assumed his other eye underneath his forehead protector was closed as well.

He opened his eye and immediately took note to the scar on her neck, "Sakura, I see you haven't treated your scar yet." She blushed and turned towards her two teammates to hide the scar from her sensei.

"I-I thought it would be best to let it heal on its own. It seems pointless to waste all of that time and energy on something that will heal by itself."

Naruto inched closer to Sakura and stared at the scar, as if he were in shock, "I don't remember you getting that Sakura-Chan." He lifted his hand to touch it, but was startled when Sai's voice rang in his ear.

Sai was standing just as close to Sakura as Naruto was, inspecting the scar that seemed to have everyone's attention, "It looks pretty deep. Sakura…You're a medic nin. You of all people should know when a scar is deep enough that it needs to be treated."

"As well as it's location. The neck isn't the best place to be getting cut," Kakashi chimed in. Sakura's face began to redden. It wasn't just the fact that he noticed or because he was looking at her, there, but because he was worrying about her.

She pushed back her blush and began to retort, "I understand that the neck is a bad place to get cut, but I'm injured on the crook of the neck and shoulder: A portion of the body that has high blood flow, allowing it to heal more quickly than other parts of the human body!"

Her sensei quickly changed the topic as he knew she was getting uncomfortable with their nitpicking, " Anyways, let's get to training!"

Naruto instantly snapped back into his chipper attitude, "All right time for some sparring! I call Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi smiled under his mask again, " Well, actually I'm not taking part today. I have some paperwork to handle with the Hokage. You three will be sparring against each other."

Naruto's smile twitched at the edge yet remained there, " So why did you come here?!"

"Well, I did make plans to see you guys and I just found out this morning I needed to handle the work, so I can't just cancel and not show up. I thought it'd be better for me to tell you face to face."

"Very well." Sai responded calmly, and, respectfully, walked towards the open field. Naruto followed suit and walked out to the field, beckoning Sakura to join them.

She started walking toward the field when she heard her sensei's voice in a hushed, yet stern tone, "You better start healing that tonight, or I will take you off of our missions until it's gone."

She nodded with her back to him and walked out to the clearing where her other teammates were positioned. Her gloved hand covered the scar, as if light would make the wound worse. He disappeared, moments later, into a cloud of gray smoke.

"Oi Sai! I'm gonna finish you off!" Naruto formed numerous hand seals and created five Shadow clones.

"I seriously doubt it. I believe I was the one winning before Sakura got here! Right?"

"Only because you cheated!" The blond shinobi turned to the young cherry blossom and smirked, "Let's take him out Sakura-Chan!"

"Naruto you know it's unfair to play two against one!" With that the kunoichi charged at Naruto with her fist ready to make contact.

One of the Naruto clone's jumped in the way of Sakura's punch and took the blow for the real nine-tailed fox boy.

"Fine! You want to play like that!" all of the Naruto's mixed up in a sequence and began to charge at Sakura.

With in an instant, one of the Naruto's disappeared with a loud poof noise and Sai landed back down on the ground, " don't forget that I'm here." With that two of the Naruto's veered off and began fighting with Sai in hand-to-hand combat.

Sakura kept her guard up as Naruto came at her with a full forced punch towards her face. She successfully blocked and reciprocated with a right swing. Naruto dodged and kicked towards her. She flipped away and landed on her feet awaiting a frontal attack from the fox boy.

She didn't see him anywhere. She noticed Sai was combating one Naruto, now, and she didn't see her opponent anywhere. Without a second's notice she turned around as Naruto punched her in the stomach. The cherry blossom hit the tree behind her with an alarming speed.

The blonde shinobi ran to her side and started to panic, "Sakura! Oh my god I thought you would've blocked that! I'm so sorry!"

Sai, taking note to what had just occurred, quickly knocked the last Naruto clone away and rushed over to Sakura. She was knocked unconscious and covered in her own blood.

"We need to get her to a medic nin, NOW!."

The blond woman placed her hands on her hips and scoffed, "Okay, Kakashi. I believe you, now. I just didn't think the assassin we sent her after would have abilities of that level."

"I had a feeling ever since she came back. Something was off when I saw her this morning, too." He turned and looked at his company, "Can you do anything, Tsunade?"

She smirked and looked at him with confidence, " Of course! I am the fifth Hokage after all!"

"Excellent."

"I must ask you something," Kakashi turned his head towards the godaime and nodded, "She may need someone around to help take care of her."

He nodded yet again to agree and turned back towards the field where Sai had the limp Sakura on his back, ready to bolt towards the Hokage's building. He felt a pull somewhere in his abdomen as he saw Sakura in such a state. It was trying to urge him to steal her from Sai and to take her to the tower, himself.

He mentally sighed. _How troubling. _

"We better get going, they're coming to see me for help," with that statement the two of them dashed across rooftops at an alarming speed towards the Hokage's tower.


	2. Silent Promises

Chapter 2: Silent Promises

The young cherry blossom opened her eyes, slowly, adjusting to the light that filled the room she rested in. A sharp pain resonated on her neck as she attempted to sit up.

The blond haired ninja took note to her state of consciousness and sat alert on the chair next to the bed, "Sakura-Chan! You're okay!"

Sai was standing by the window; arms crossed, with an expression of fear melting into relief, "Good to see you're awake."

Sakura attempted a smile, only succeeding at managing a smirk, "T-th-thank…s" her face melted from the halfhearted smile to shock. _Why is it so hard to talk? Even moving is difficult._

A familiar voice resonated in her ears as Kakashi-sensei shifted from the corner, "It's frustrating isn't it?" He stopped leaning on the wall and walked forward, "Having every amount of chakra drained from you."

"What!?" Naruto's words seemed to truly match Sakura's expression, "but how? When?"

The silver haired Jounin smiled in an attempt to calm the three down, "We'll just wait for the Godaime to explain everything." He left the room in a calm silence.

Within minutes, he returned with Tsunade and Shizune following him into the room, all of them with somewhat solemn expressions. Tsunade sat next to Sakura and began examining her vitals. Sakura could tell from the silence and from Tsunade's actions that something was extremely wrong.

"Sakura, Why didn't you get this checked out when you came back from your mission?" Tsunade allowed a brief moment of silence, as she knew the chuunin couldn't respond, "You knew something was off after you got this cut, right?"

The cherry blossom drooped her head in response, acknowledging that she understood her teacher.

"Dammit! Sakura I taught you better! You're an A class medic nin, maybe even an S if you were more adept to taking care of yourself as well as others." Tsunade took a couple of deep breaths, "This assassin we sent you after was far more skilled than we thought he was. Apparently, he had certain skills that are similar to the Hyuuga's abilities.

"He cut off your ability to regenerate chakra. He also hit one of the main chakra flows, in your neck, forcing chakra to drain even when you weren't using it, like in your sleep. Every task that you do uses chakra, including use of your muscles. When you were resting from your mission, it didn't drain as much as the amount you used during the sparring mission you and these two had three days ago." Tsunade pointed at Naruto and Sai, forcing the mauve haired kunoichi to glance at them, shortly.

At the sound of the last statement, Sakura's eyes widened. _Three days? I couldn't possibly have been out for that long._ Tsunade took note to her expression and responded, "Yes, it has been three days. We were forced to remove almost every last bit of chakra in your system. What reserves you had left had to be removed so we can fully reestablish the chakra flow in your body.'

Tsunade looked over at Naruto and Sai with a stern appearance, "It would probably be best for you two to leave, I need to converse with Sakura and Kakashi alone." Sai bowed and moved elegantly to the door as Naruto began to clamor and mumble his way out of the room. Shizune soon followed, leaving the three nin to speak privately.

"Sakura, you do realize what you will have to do, now?" Sakura remained motionless, continuing to bow her head down due to the weakness of her muscles, "I've requested Kakashi to be the one to help you in the next coming weeks."

The pink-haired kunoichi could feel the blood rushing to her face.

"He has graciously accepted the task." She paused and continued, "I know, you're wondering why Kakashi, correct? Well, most medic nins do have quite a substantial control over their chakra network, however Kakashi's is the most advanced at severe control as you could probably tell from his chidori technique."

Kakashi stood silent against the wall. He felt awkward about the situation, for he knew Sakura was a strong shinobi and her future was solely in his hands. He had also seen her grow into the young woman sitting before him. He was afraid of the discomfort between them in the upcoming weeks.

"If you would like Sakura, I can request another medic nin later, but for now, Kakashi is the only one that can restore your network from the point it is at, now." Tsunade stood up and shot a solemn expression to Kakashi, leaving the room to the former student and teacher.

The silver-haired Jounin walked over to Sakura and placed a hand on the bandage around her neck, slowly uncoiling it from around her neck. He charged a large amount of chakra into his hand, placed it on top of her gash and slowly forced his energy into her wound. He looked at her face, noticing a single tear slide down her cheek before she became limp and passed out again.

Sakura awoke, yet again, groggy and extremely fatigued. As it was the first time, Naruto and Sai were in the room, only this time they were playing a game of cards: Naruto obviously losing miserably by his expression. Kakashi was seated in the corner reading his ever-popular version of Ichi Ichi Paradise with a placid expression.

The kunoichi struggled to sit up, finally succeeding after Naruto had helped prop her up.

"How are you feeling Sakura-Chan?" She gave a faint smile, knowing that she didn't have enough strength to speak yet. "We're going on a mission in two days, but don't worry! It's just a short escort, we'll be back soon enough to see you get better."

Sai looked at the cherry blossom, preparing to tell her some good news, "They'll be releasing you. You're going to be able to return to your apartment soon."

She looked around the room and relaxed a bit. This let the others know she was glad she could leave soon. Hospitals made her extremely uncomfortable, which was odd considering she was a medic nin.

Kakashi sent the two boys out and closed the door, getting ready to treat her like he did last time.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Sakura. There's only so much I can do given the condition you're in." She faintly smiled, again. _It can't be helped. I'm thankful that it's you who's helping me._ She tried to send her thoughts to him, yet he showed no signs of understanding how she felt.

He charged his hand again with swirling, visible chakra and placed it on her neck as he did the day before. Sakura managed to hold on a little longer, but passed out when it became too much for her fatigued body to handle.

She awoke a couple of hours later to find Kakashi sitting in the chair beside the bed.

"Feeling better?" He asked, with a small grin on his face, or what Sakura interpreted to be one, as the mask hid much of his face, "I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

She managed a smile and closed her eyes in an attempt to make him feel at ease about everything.

"Good. There is something I would like to talk to you about, Sakura." He shifted in his chair and his tone changed, "You do realize that this process is going to take a long while, as the Hokage stated, correct?" She remained silent and bowed her head in acknowledgment.

"Well, seeing as Naruto and Sai are going on a mission shortly, it's clearly evident that you won't be going with them. However unfortunate it may be, Ino will be going with them."

_I completely forgot about Ino!_ Sakura looked at her former sensei and prayed he understood what she was asking.

He relaxed a little and replied, "She's visited you everyday since you've been here. She's just come at odd times when you were asleep. Ino has to keep watch of the shop for her parents." The jounin motioned towards the nightstand. A small daffodil resided in a hand-blown glass vase.

Sakura relaxed a little. _He understood what I wanted to know! Thank you Sensei!_ Sakura's habit of calling him sensei never did wear off, even though she was an extremely skilled nin, now.

Kakashi returned to his stern tone and position, "As I said they're all leaving, and Tsunade is sending you home, but," he looked away from her eyes, towards the wall beside him, "I am the one who is responsible for taking care of you, and I have thought it best that I be near you at all times."

She blinked innocently as his eyes returned to her face, "I will be living with you for the next couple of weeks."

Her face went bright red and she could feel all of the assumptions piling up on to already. _Ino will be furious!_

"The godiame and I also thought it best that only privileged people be permitted to know of your condition. Apparently, the assassin we sent you after you was a high ranked nin in a group that know you, Sai,, Naruto and I were the ones who captured him."

The cherry blossom's eyes were searching his face, hungry to find more to this story.

"Since the boys are going out on another mission, it doesn't seem to be a bad idea to send along two ANBU black ops along with them. The hokage believes two more should be stationed outside of your apartment, for extra protection."

Sakura slightly nodded in agreement as her sensei continued talking, "Don't worry Sakura, everyone will be fine. I promise."

He removed the fingerless glove on his right hand and stared at the bandage wrapped around her collarbone and neck.

"One last thing…" he stared at her neck, "I'm sure you're wondering as to why I have to wait for you to be conscious for your treatment." She bowed her head to signify a yes, "Well, the chakra channels practically close completely when the body is in a state of unconciousness to preserve your levels and allow regeneration to occur. In order for me to provide chakra into your system, they must be opened."

He began to remove her bandages again, accidentally brushing his fingers against her neck. Sakura felt a small shiver crawl up her spine each time his hand brushed against her skin.

The silver-haired nin removed his fingerless glove and placed his hand on the gash on her neck. She closed her eyes to take in the warmth coming from his hand and prepared for the pain for when he would start to force more chakra into her system.

Moments later, she felt the pain of his chakra entering her wound and finding its way into her torso. Within moments she passed out again, lasting even longer than she did before. She began to fall forward as Kakashi caught her and laid her back down to rest.

Thank you so much for the reviews, they keep me going, not only for my story, but for my week as well.

Hopefully I can get these chapters in weekly, it all depends on my homework, Graphic Design requires more time than expected! I 3 you all!


	3. Faded Memories

Ino walked in to the hospital room to find Naruto, Sai and Kakashi sitting about the room. Kakashi was playing a game shogi with Sai, clearly winning, and Naruto was eating an orange, no doubt from the fruit basket that Sakura's parents brought for her. The blond kunoichi brushed her hair out from her eye and placed a single daffodil in the vase next to the bed. She picked up a similar vase holding a dying daffodil.

"You know she is being released today."

Ino scoffed and replied, "Yes, and she can take it with her," she turned and looked at her best friend, "If she ever wakes up." She sat down on the bed and brushed Sakura's hair out of her face.

"Even if she did wake up, she can't talk," Sai stated as he placed another shogi piece down on the board.

Ino looked at Sai and slightly smiled, "I know, but I just wanted her to know that I was here for her."

"She already knows," Kakashi smiled under his mask and pointed to the flower.

Ino chuckled and stood up, "I guess you're right," She walked towards the door and turned around, looking at the other two team seven members, "I'll meet you guys by the gate to leave town. Don't be late!"

The two boys looked at her in agreement and saw her walk out of the room. Five minutes later, Kakashi had won the game against Sai and Naruto was finished with the orange.

"You two better get going, Ino will hurt you if you're late," Kakashi stated after Sai solemnly cleaned the pieces off of the board.

"But I really wanted to say goodbye to her!" Naruto whined.

"You can now."

"But…I mean. While she was awake."

"If you waited for her to wake, you may never get to your mission. You know how long it takes for someone who has completely run out of chakra to regain consciousness."

"I guess you're right," Naruto eyed his teammate on the bed and whispered something in her ear.

Sai and Naruto left after another ten minutes of waiting, leaving Kakashi to read his Ichi Ichi Paradise once again.

Sakura awoke after another hour and sat up. Her eyes instantly moved over to the daffodil sitting on the bed stand.

"She came in about an hour and a half ago. Practically begged to stay here and talk to you when you came to." The young kunoichi's eyes began to fill with tears, "She'll be back Sakura, don't worry."

With these words Sakura began to full out cry. Kakashi sat on the bed and pulled her into a hug, hoping it would help her feel a little better. It seemed like the moment had frozen to both of them, as if time stood still, until Tsunade opened the door.

Within an instant Kakashi let go and wound up back in his chair by the shogi board. Apparently, the Hokage was turned talking to Shizune, completely missing what had happened in the room.

"Ah, excellent you're awake, Sakura," Tsunade addressed her pupil and continued, "We're releasing you right now, so you may go home. I must ask that you refrain from any arduous task that will use a lot of your chakra. Your body needs to be completely done recharging before you can do anything difficult. It's been told not to make anymore chakra for you by that assassin's technique, but somehow I have figured out a way to get rid of it."

Sakura finally looked up at Tsunade, hoping she wouldn't notice her face was still red from the tears.

"His technique was to gradually drain your chakra and to stop all regeneration. We could only wipe away the technique by getting rid of all of your chakra, because that is the point in which the skill will stop working. So we drained as much of your chakra that we could, and hoped that reestablishing it to your body the technique will have faded, since it has completed what it was designed to do."

"Has it actually worked hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, sounding somewhat concerned about his former pupil.

"Well that is why we brought her here," Tsunade moved aside to reveal a timid young lady with shocking white eyes staring at Sakura. "Well how does she look Hinata?"

"Uhm yes Lady Hokage," Hinata concentrated her chakra and released her technique, "Byakugan!" She skimmed over Sakura's body and watched closely, "She does have some Chakra now and her entire network seems to be doing a good job of keeping it in."

"Excellent! I never seem to amaze myself anymore. I'm just so good I don't think I could do a thing wrong."

"Except owe every village you know an unspeakable amount of money. If I weren't around you'd probably drink or gamble yourself to death." Shizune retorted, without even considering the consequences of her statement.

"What did you say Shizune?!"

"N…Nothing Lady Hokage!"

"Very well. Thank you Hinata for assisting me."

"N-No problem Lady Hokage!" Hinata's Byakugan faded as she bowed and left the room.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi and said, "You may take her home, now Kakashi, and I trust you will take good care of her." The silver-haired shinobi stood and saluted to the Godaime as if taking an order. "Sakura, please get better." The Hokage smiled and left with Shizune close behind.

"Shall we go then?" Kakashi smiled under his mask. He scooped Sakura into his arms and carried her out of the building, towards her apartment.

They arrived at her front door within five minutes. Kakashi opened the door, walked into the bedroom and laid the kunoichi on her bed. He went back to the front door to close it and surveyed the apartment to get a feeling of his surroundings, just in case someone from the assasin's group should find their way in.

He returned to Sakura's bedroom and removed his glove once more, "In case you didn't notice, your sessions have been getting a little longer because of the amount of strength you have to hold out. In about two more days you should be able to take a short session like these without passing out."

The cherry blossom smiled and opened her mouth to say something. She refrained from speaking, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say much. She looked at his face, pitifully, and noticed some wrinkles around his mouth, indicating a smile.

"Don't worry. You should be able to talk by then as well." Acting on its own, Sakura's stomach growled loudly. With another chuckle from her former sensei, Kakashi responded, "Would it be okay if I went and made some dinner for us?"

The kunoichi nodded and he left to go to the kitchen. A various amount of clanking noises and shuffling feet could be heard from the Jounin in her kitchen, but Sakura started to daze about other possibilities. She began to imagine what the next weeks would entail. Living with Kakashi would get a lot of talk, but she knew nothing would happen, no matter how much she may have wanted it.

The silver haired nin walked through her bedroom door carrying some sustenance for the tired kunoichi, "I hope it's not too bad. I'm not exactly the best cook." He sat down and raised the chopsticks with rice to her mouth.

She attempted to raise her hand to try and feed herself, only failing when it didn't respond to what her mind had told it to do. Her former sensei chuckled, "you need to wait for that to come back, as well."

Looking defeated and completely helpless, the cherry blossom opened her mouth and allowed Kakashi to feed her. A deep red hue enveloped her entire body as embarrassment overwhelmed her.

She finished her meal and Kakashi spoke up, "I know Ino is gone, so I've arranged with Tsunade to have Hinata take care of your showering and clothing. Are you okay with that?" She nodded in agreement. The last thing she wanted was for him to think of her bathing and clothing.

Twenty minutes later, Hinata appeared at the front door. Kakashi let her in and raised his hand to his brow, making a saluting motion to the girls, "I've got to go shower and bring some clothes over." The two girls were left alone in silence.

Hinata barely spoke two words the entire day, apologizing when she did something slightly wrong. She had given Sakura a sponge bath and redressed her in a tight, light pink tank top and short black shorts. Kakashi returned shortly carrying his supplies for staying at the cherry blossom's home.

She used her byakugan and observed Sakura's chakra again, noting it on a small pad of paper that Sakura had no doubt that Tsunade gave to her. The meek kunoichi bowed and left. Sakura could hear Hinata whisper to Kakashi as she left the apartment and continued on her way.

Sakura's former sensei walked into the room, wearing his usual mask and headband covering his eye. His clothes were also his usual with the exception that he wasn't wearing the green jounin vest. The black shirt he wore hung loosely around his form, overlapping the top of his dark pants. He had a small bag slung over one shoulder.

He dropped the bag next to her bed, sat down on the comforter that she lay under, and looked at the scar on her neck. It was healing quicker than he had hoped, "Well, one more small healing session for today and we'll wait until tomorrow to see how you're coming along," his hand glowed once more and he raised it up. She placed her hand on the bottom of his shirt to prepare for the pain that would soon take control of her.

The silver haired jounin refrained from the procedure to reinterpret the situation. He looked at his former pupil with sympathy and touched his hand to her neck. Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment and her hand tightened on his shirt, pulling at the strings of his heart. He hated hurting someone he was close to. A quick flash of his former teammates appeared to him, bringing forgotten memories back to him.

"_Obito liked you…probably even loved you."_

"_Then Kakashi I…My feelings-"_

"_I was once… the kind of trash that would abandon you."_

_The young girl's face had melted from fear to utter depression. It seemed as if she cared for nothing but to die after the statement that she heard._

"_RIN, GO!!"_

Suddenly, Sakura collapsed against him, waking him from his nostalgic stupor. Her body was limp, but still radiating heat. He apologetically hugged her and laid her back down on the bed, still trying to erase the images he had just seen in his mind.

A/N: okay! Chapter 3 is up and I'm not too fond of it, but HEY this is my first fanfic ever…give me a break! Anyways! Thank you so much everyone for the positive reviews (they keep my hopes up) and thank you for the well wishes!

For those of you are slightly confused…

Sakura did not heal herself after she was cut b/c when the mist ninja had used his skill, he had enacted the whole "draining chakra" ability at that moment. Sakura is usually pretty consistent with her chakra control, correct? However, since he had inflicted this skill on her, it automatically threw her control of chakra out the window.

The long-term effect of this skill is to drain the users' chakra until they get to the point of death, however the short-term effect is to disrupt the controller's capability to use chakra. So, Sakura still had her chakra, enough to live at least, but she couldn't control it to the point of healing, since all medical jutsus require perfect control.

Also, she didn't tell Tsunade, because she had assumed it would heal on its own, and she didn't want to suffer the wrath of the godaime. (Believe me, Tsunade has some wrath!)

I hope that clears some things up. Sorry, if I cause anymore confusion, but feel free to ask questions. I am here to please. Love you all!!


	4. Midnight Screams

**A/N **Alas! Naruto is not mine—it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Midnight Screams**

A shy knock at the door indicated that Hinata was there to check up on Sakura, again. The night had gone by so quickly that it seemed that time had decided to double in speed when passing.

Kakashi rose from the sofa in Sakura's apartment. He slept without a shirt, as he knew Sakura couldn't get up and walk around and that it was going to be a hot summer. He slipped into a new shirt and answered the door cheerfully, "Hi Hinata, Welcome back. Are you here to check in on Sakura?"

"H…Hai Kakashi-sama." He moved to the side to allow the Hyuuga girl in and closed the door softly behind her. They started to make their way towards the bedroom that Sakura resided in.

"Well she's in her room. I don't actually know if she's awake or not so…" He stopped in his tracks when he finally realized what he saw.

Sakura was in her room, but she was laying face down on the floor halfway between the bed and the doorway. The Hyuuga gasped. Kakashi lifted the pink haired kunoichi off of the floor and placed her on the bed in the proper position she should've been in.

Her eyes were open and she was breathing heavily.

"Sakura what happened? Why were you on the floor?"

She opened her mouth and cleared her throat as much as she could and rasped out some words," S...Screaming." Hinata rushed into the other room.

"Who was? Who was screaming?" Hinata reentered the room with a glass of water and held it up to Sakura's lips. The pink haired kunoichi had taken the water in quicker than anyone could've imagined.

She smacked her lips quickly and then sighed. Sakura;s voice rang out in the room, still raspy, but gradually returning to its former melodious tone, "I heard screaming." The word screaming had developed a squeak that led to nothing but air coming out of her mouth.

"Who was it Sakura?" he was eager. Could this have been one of the assassins making their way toward the kunoichi sitting before him?

"You." It was like she had hit him with her super strength. He was at a loss for words, but fought to maintain his composure.

"Why would I be screaming?"

The cherry blossom sitting before him turned her head to one side, "I don't know. You were just screaming."

"Sakura," She could tell he was serious, but the mask covering his face didn't help, "What did I really say?"

Her eyes glanced towards Hinata and the young Hyuuga girl picked up the hint. She quickly got up and after a meek 'excuse me' she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay...we're alone. What did I say?" He grabbed her chin and turned her face towards his. She was astonished at how familiar he was acting with her. Her sensei, her teacher, was treating her like Naruto or Sasuke would. _Well maybe not Sasuke, _she inwardly smiled.

Though his hand was holding her face in place, her eyes still averted from his, "You called out a name."

His mind raced, whose name would he call out in his sleep? _Rin? Obito? Who?_ "Whose name?"

Tears we forming in the corners of her eyes, she didn't want to tell him, it was too embarrassing, " mine." Her crying seemed to strike him even more than what she said.

He sat for a moment. The silence before his responses usually indicated that he was trying to piece his words together. "Is that really all?"

She nodded her head in one swift motion. The tears were dripping on to her bed. Sakura's hand clenched shut, but no matter how hard she tried, her arm wouldn't make it all the way up to allow her to brush the tears away.

Kakashi lifted his hand up to wipe her tears away. It was an odd sensation. The feeling he gave her was more sensual, even in the midst of tears and a pained body, his touch seemed to calm every emotion, yet stir so many more.

To him, her skin was extremely soft and warm, the kind of warmth that he wanted to surround him. There was tension in the room, but he was confused, "I'm sorry Sakura. I didn't mean anything by it. You know that."

"I…I know. I just feel so helpless." Another squeak followed as her voice trailed off again. She leaned toward him attempting to rest her head in the crook between his head and shoulder. He embraced her, allowing her to do so while trying to calm her down.

"It's not your fault, Sakura. We didn't know the assassin would be so skilled. It was my fault." She backed away from him, preparing to retort to his statement, however he had placed his hand over her mouth to prevent her from speaking. "Sakura, I'm trained for missions that are tens times harder than the last one we completed," his eyes trailed down to her neck. Her scar was completely healed shut with a slight burn around it.

The cherry blossom turned her head to remove his hand from her mouth to speak, but Kakashi spoke quickly, "Sakura, I don't want you to speak for a while. You need to rest and allow your voice to return, fully, before you lose it again." He got up from the bed and walked towards the door, "I need to talk to you about something, but I'll wait until you've rested." He smiled curtly and opened the door, "Thank you, Hinata"

Hinata slowly walked in and began her procedure for the day, avoiding to speak at all. The pink haired kunoichi watched as her former sensei saluted and left her room. _Kakashi-sensei._

He had decided to leave her apartment while she was with Hinata. _Taking a shower with me there wouldn't exactly be easy for her. Ok…It wouldn't be easy for me…_ He rubbed the back of his head as he walked, stretching. His face was slightly red from the thought and, before he knew it, he found himself standing in front of the memorial.

Their names seem to be blaring. Every one else on the list had faded in comparison to his two former teammates. The world froze whenever he stood here. Memories flowed rapidly, like a river swollen with rain. _Obito…Rin…_

**Okay! I know I know, this chapter is EXTREMELY short, but the next chapter is so long, and I just can't seem to find a place to cut it off to turn into 2 chapters….it all runs together so smoothly that it would just ruin the composition if I chopped it… **

**But I will actually try to get both chapters up this week, since I have extremely slow Internet at home and Christmas break is coming soon. 3 weeks…what will everyone do for 3 weeks? I know I'll get a lot o writing done (I hope) not only on this fic but my Avatar and Inuyasha fics. **

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Everyone who has posted, I am so grateful that you like my story! Reviews seriously make my day (at least all of the good ones that you all have lovingly provided.) **


	5. Personality

Naruto is not mine -- It is Masashi Kishimoto's (GENIUS!)

**Personality**

Sakura smiled at Hinata and thanked her after her shower and clothing, trying to give some confidence for the meek girl. The Hyuuga smiled, bowed slightly, and formed her hand seal to activate her eyes.

"Your chakra is doing better." Hinata smiled and deactivated the byakugan. With the most bravado she could muster, the young Hyuuga asked Sakura what had been troubling her the entire day, "S…Sakura-chan. If you don't mind me asking, what did happen last night? I- I mean to make you end up on the floor like that."

The cherry blossom smiled and responded concerned, "He was screaming—er Kakashi sense was. I don't know, but when he said my name it was like I _needed_ to help him. Call it a medic's instincts, or maybe…"

The Hyuuga blushed, knowing what Sakura was thinking about, but she remained silent to respect her privacy. Hinata left shortly after her duties, leaving Sakura to herself for a couple of hours before Kakashi came back.

The cherry blossom sat in her room, mulling over all possible reasons as to why last night's event had occurred. _What was he dreaming?_ She attempted to raise her hand to scratch an itch she had on her nose, succeeding on the third try.

With the realization that she could move her arm, she began to train her arms to regain their strength. _If I can move my body, then I can help next time around._ The flash of her getting better came to her mind and she saw herself alone again.

_That's right…when I get better Kakashi sensei won't be around anymore. _ Her mood melted and she stopped trying to lift her arms. _Alone…again._ At that moment she realized that she was covered in sweat. _Great. Hinata won't be back until tomorrow, and I just got myself completely dirty._

At that moment the doorknob to the front door in the apartment opened. The silver haired Jounin stepped through her bedroom door a moment after she heard the front door close again.

"Hey," he leaned against the door jam again with his nonchalant attitude, "You look like you've been running in hundred degree weather."

She didn't realize it, but she was breathing heavily. "I was…training my arms. I'm trying to regain full motion." Her arm rose slowly to wipe her brow. It trembled, but she did indeed make some progress.

He sighed deeply and sat next to her, holding her hand, "Sakura, we need to talk about something," his other hand brushed her short hair away from the gash that had healed, "Your wound is healed shut, and as a medic, you should know that there are 2 ways to supply chakra to someone."

Her breathing had slowed, but her pulse had begun to hasten as she responded to his statement, "To give chakra to someone in need you have two options: through an open wound, or…" She swallowed the words. It was uncomfortable to speak to him about this, especially since she had taken notice to him in a different light recently. "or—"

Taking note to her discomfort Kakashi cut the young cherry blossom off, "Or through any other opening in the body. It's senseless to try and force chakra through a healed wound. It would just burn the skin and waste the healers' chakra." He shifted and pulled a kunai out of the pouch tied to his leg, "I'm going to ask which you would prefer; would you like me to reopen your wound and heal it providing chakra in that manner or through another opening?"

Sakura paused. It had been such short notice. She thought she had just been punched in the stomach, "Uhm…Kaka-sensei, I'd…Well I mean, as any medical nin would know, the eyes, ears and nose are all extremely dangerous to transfer chakra through, since it could lead to a permanent loss of the sense that they provide to. So…the only…choice"

"Well…we won't get into the specifics of other choices right now." Though she couldn't see it, Kakashi's face was red. _Just thinking about that around her makes things so unbearably uncomfortable._

"You're not going to shove your hand in my mouth are you? "

"No. Actually, the chidori is difficult to control enough, I don't want to scar your pretty face, now do I?"

"Well, I don't want you to reopen my wound, but…" She shook her head and smiled at him, "I know this sounds crazy, but could you," She breathed deeply and spat it out, "Kiss me?" He smiled and set the kunai on her nightstand. He would never admit to her how ecstatic her request made him. He would probably never admit it to himself.

"I-I mean if you feel reopening the wound would—"

"Sakura. I gave _you_ the choice, and I will do as you feel best, medic nin." His geeky grin remained in place under his mask and he reached up to pull his headband off. The red sharingan caught her attention immediately.

It had been so long since she had seen the sharingan, the same eyes that Sasuke had. "Wait!" her hand flew up and covered the his scarred red eye, "You're not going to put me in a genjutsu, are you?

The wrinkles on his mask indicated a smirk, "I wasn't planning on it. I just thought my forehead protector would've been cold on your forehead." Her cheeks reddened. He took her hand off of his eye and placed it on the edge of his mask, "You can do the honors Sakura." The silver hair jounin removed his hand and waited for her response.

She gulped and reached her other hand to his mask. Her eyes maintained their position on his mouth, avoiding any chance he would use to put her under a genjutsu. She moved slowly, allowing all of the anticipation to overwhelm her.

Kakashi was watching her in a loving manner. He wanted to see her reaction when she saw his face. He knew the antics his team would attempt to make him remove his mask, and he ensured none of them actually succeeded. _ Not this time,_ he thought. He wanted her to see him.

When the cherry blossom finally removed the mask completely, her body froze as she inhaled a deep breath. He was as gorgeous as her wildest dreams would have made him look. The reason for the mask had finally hit her. It was never to hide any scars or prevent other nin to recognize their enemy, it was to keep women under control. Like Sasuke, Kakashi was a pretty boy, well, man. Every woman would be crawling all over him if he didn't wear his mask.

He fought back the urge to smile when he saw her expression. _This is exactly what I thought she would do._ Sakura snapped out of her stupor when the jounin before her placed his hand on her neck.

Her voice barely squeaked out, "I understand if you don't want to… to do this."

For the first time she saw him smile, without the mask. His strong jaw made is known that he was a mature man, yet his actual smile reminded her of both of her teammates: Naruto's dorky cheerfulness and Sasuke's confidence and cunning attitude. "Sakura, the question isn't if I want to, it's if you want to. I told you it was your choice," he paused "Do you want me to?"

She nodded slowly, the grip of his hand tightening around her neck, and her hair bunching between his fingers. While condensing his chakra to his mouth, Kakashi moved closer to Sakura.

Before she felt his lips touching hers, the kunoichi sensed his chakra floating between their mouths. It was the type of sensation that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end during a lightening storm. Just like the storms, her hair did as she expected and her breathing became shallow as she anticipated the kiss.

It wasn't as painful as she had expected, knowing he was forcing his chakra into her, but it felt more than just helping her get better. His lips were soft, just like the kiss, and the chakra made it extremely warm, but not as unbearably hot as the chidori was on her previous wound.

Kakashi struggled to maintain the same amount of chakra. His mind was wandering and he didn't want to forget the reason why they were doing this. He felt her lean into the kiss even more and noticed how warm her body was. He ached to hold her, but maintained his composure. _Maybe some other time. When she can actually control her body, and thoughts, more clearly._

The kiss ended shortly, and as Kakashi pulled away he heard Sakura's quivering breath afterwards, "I'm not sure if you realize this, but providing chakra to you in this manner is easier for both of us."

She snapped out of her ecstatic high and looked at him with a slightly confused expression, taking in his gorgeous face again.

Kakashi cleared his throat and looked at her flawlessly beautiful face, " As you might notice, you're not as tired as you normally would be from the other method we were using. I'm not wasting as much chakra as I did, as well."

The pink-haired Kunoichi smiled weakly and looked at her former-sensei with apologetic eyes, "Uhm, Kaka-sensei, could you do me a big favor?"

"hm?"

"Well, I was training today after Hinata had given me a shower and," she closed her eyes and cocked her head to one side to appear innocent, "I'm kind of dirty and sweaty. Could you start a bath for me? I mean…I can move my arms slightly better, now, so I can probably get dressed and undressed on my own."

Kakashi could feel the perverted thoughts creeping into his mind, "Sakura, you still can't stand, so you can't get in and out of the tub on your own. What's the point in putting dry clothes on when the tub will still be wet?"

"Oh, never mind then."

"I can do this for you, though." He stood up and grabbed a small towel out of her closet, along with a bath pail, and some soap, "I can give you a sponge bath and let Hinata clean you off tomorrow."

She fidgeted with her fingers and nodded slowly. The jounin filled the pail with warm water in the bathroom and returned to sit with the cherry blossom on her bed.

He looked so odd to her, walking around her apartment like he lived there, and without his headband or mask: a sight that only she would get to see. It was a treasure to place in her memories.

Kakashi placed the small crème towel in the wooden bath pail and set it on the floor next to her bed. Without any warning, he reached up to Sakura's neck and began to pull her hair back. It was difficult, though he wouldn't admit it, because he was tying her hair behind her while he was sitting in front of her. _ Leaning on her like this makes me feel like I should be hugging her._

The pink-haired kunoichi could feel the heat he radiated, or perhaps it was her heat, since she was turning the same color as her hair. _His scent. _She took it in and contemplated what smell it was. _Sandalwood. I think. No, wait. There's something else. _She couldn't place it, but she began to register this scent as Kakashi's. It was musky, but she began to find a fast addiction to it when he pulled away.

Her former sensei grabbed the towel and wrung it out in the pail. He took a moment to look at her and began to smile.

"What?" Sakura noticed his smile as he surveyed her face, "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I've just never seen you with your hair pulled back."

"Oh," She recalled what her mother said to her when she was younger, "'You look so beautiful with your hair down. Don't ever pull it back unless you're alone or working hard.'"

"Who said that?" He brought the towel up to her neck and began to wipe her scar. The kunoichi jumped a little from the unexpected contact on her wound.

"My mother. She always hated me being a nin. She thought they were suicidal adrenaline addicts." She looked out her window and imagined where her mother was right now, smiling when she thought about what she was complaining about at this moment.

"I think you look beautiful either way." To this the kunoichi snapped her face towards his, looking him straight in the eyes. She was shocked that Kakashi-sensei, her teacher since twelve, would say something like that to her.

"Kaka-sensei…why—"

"You don't need to keep calling me sensei, Sakura. I'm not your teacher anymore." He moved the towel from her neck and brushed his lips against her scar ever so lightly.

It was so sudden to her, the cherry blossom gasped as the sensation hit her. That same feeling from before had overcome her body. Every hair stood on end and her eyes automatically closed. Her words could barely be heard as she breathed them out, "Kakashi."

The cherry blossom reached her arms around her former sensei and embraced him, softly. After a few more pecks on her neck, Kakashi pulled away, reached for the towel and began to wipe her shoulder.

Sakura's breathing slowed down again after the silver haired jounin finished with the sponge bath and left to cook them dinner.

The cherry blossom looked at her reflection in her dresser's mirror. _Do I really look that pretty? _Her hair was still tied back and she could see scar on her neck more clearly. It was no longer an open wound, but it was still bruised and tender, with some burn marks around it. _He was right, it has healed shut. He already started to burn me with his chakra._

The kunoichi took note to the kunai in on her nightstand. Without a second thought she moved it into the top drawer. _ Just in case._

Seconds later the slim jounin entered her room with food that looked even more appealing than the meal he had day before.

"It looks wonderful! Thank you Kakashi." The words spilled out of her mouth, yet it made her sound like she wasn't used to saying his name in such a familiar tone. Praying that he didn't hear it, she averted her stare to the window.

"I heard that," though she wasn't actually seeing his face, she knew there was a grin plastered across it. The tone of his voice indicated that.

Acting innocent was a strength that she developed into a skill in her years, and this instance was a prime example to use it, "Heard what?" she turned to look at him with the cherub-like face that she had mastered.

Her façade melted when she saw his face. She knew he could be serious at times, but she had never seen his entire face when he was being completely resolute. It frightened her to see him like this. He had always been so kind and silly around her and their former teammates, but now, she saw a side of Kakashi that she had never expected to see.

"You know what." The moment lingered for longer than both of them had expected. He exhaled deeply while placing the food on her nightstand. He was slightly joking about it, but it did bother him just a little, "do you really have that much difficulty being informal with me?"

"No! I just…Kakashi…" She was uncomfortable, to put what she felt into words was like trying to breath underwater.

He cracked a tender smile, "I understand. Going from teacher to something more takes time." He paused to word his next statement correctly, "I guess I felt that way when you started becoming a woman and not little Haruno Sakura anymore."

Her eyes seemed to gain the depth of multiple galaxies as she locked eyes with him. Her innocence was there, but it was unintentional.

Kakashi reached around her and took the tie out of her hair, allowing her pink tresses to frame her porcelain colored face and jade green eyes. The jounin tucked a stray lock behind the young cherry blossom's ear and kissed her gently.

Electric consumed her body as his lips brushed against hers. His kiss was as innocent as she looked just moments before. It was a mere peck, but to her it meant more. Far more. No chakra being forced into her body, no obligations for him to do this. He really meant for this. He wanted it, as did she.

The kiss broke after a few seconds, yet it's effects lingered. Kakashi grabbed a bowl of rice and a set of chopsticks, " Do you want me to feed you again, or do you want to do it yourself?"

The kunoichi lifted her hands and grabbed the bowl and chopsticks, "I think I can handle it, but I would like it if you would eat with me, Kakashi." Her words were flawless to his attentive ears, but secretly she still struggled to say it without the sensei added to the end.

His smile was lax and genuine, "Of course. Though, after dinner I want to get two more chakra sessions in before bed." The thought made her blush ever so slightly, "fortunately, with our new method of chakra introduction to your body, we can probably have you walking again in about three days."

"That soon?" her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. _Three days?_ Silence crept into the room. Her mind continued to wander as she began to eat the meal that her former sensei had lovingly made for her.

"Yes, well, it'll still take a substantial amount of time to restore enough chakra for you to get up to speed to what condition you were in before the mission. You will have to work on your coordination skills for the most part. You'll be training quite a lot in the upcoming weeks."

They finished their meal with soft conversation and a chakra induced kiss. The rest of the night passed even more quickly than the past week that Sakura practically slept through.

Kakashi slept on her couch, again without his shirt, however he still adorned his face with the trademark mask that drove all of his students crazy. He lay back, staring at ceiling while contemplating the days' event in his mind.

His mind had wandered back to the days he first met team seven and their rambunctious attitudes. Naruto hadn't changed, attitude-wise, Sasuke was some long lost nin in god knows where, and Sakura… Sakura had remained in the village, training under the most powerful healer anyone had ever heard of. Her skills were even better than the godaime's, but she was too modest to claim so.

Perhaps it was because she knew Tsunade would be so angry about being surpassed, that the apprentice would probably end up with multiple broken bones. He smiled and continued to stare with the thought in mind. The ceiling was so bland, white with recessed lighting. He turned and looked at the walls; they were white as well. Bland white walls everywhere: no pictures, no paintings, just wall.

_This place needs some personality. _With that last thought, he rolled over towards the back of the couch and fell asleep, wrinkling the edge of his mask with a coy smile.

**YAY! I l actually kind of like this chapter. OF COURSE!, Kakasaku action! Yes. Sorry that it's so long. As I said, couldn't chop it; too much goodness to just chop off and make you click for another chapter and wait for it to load…NO! you must be able to read it all in one page!**

**Er…Yea sorry. Slight rant. I'm back… anyways! THANK YOU to those of you who are reviewing, kindly, to my first fic ever. I truly appreciate it. I seriously want to meet you all in person just so I can give you a hug! **


	6. Bathubs and Blossoms

**Naruto is not mine – All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **

**Bathtubs and blossoms**

The jounin awoke, sleepily. It was hot in her apartment. His fingers felt slightly swollen and he sat up to look at the clock that resided in her kitchen. The small half wall had an opening under the cabinets and above the countertop, allowing the clock to be seen from his position.

It was 7:00 am: his usual time to wake from a peaceful sleep. After a quick moment of grogginess, the silver haired jounin dressed himself and walked to Sakura's room to check up on her.

He breathed easier when he saw her delicate frame lying where he had left her last night. Her eyes were closed, and her chest moved rhythmically with each breath that she had. Her light comforter conformed to her body. _Like an angel sleeping on a cloud._

Kakashi took the liberty to brush some of the pink tresses that obscured her perfect face. He took a moment to take in the sight before him, and chose to secure the apartment, ensuring both he and his 'angel' were safe.

Hinata knocked on the door at around 8:30, bringing with her the notepad she had her notes in and a fresh cup of coffee for both the silver haired jounin and the roseate blossom. She proceeded with her morning duties, as Kakashi waited patiently on the roof with his caffeine laced nourishment.

"Hinata…" Sakura spoke up, still contemplating if she should ask the question on her mind. It was nitpicking, and she was probably choosing the worst person to ask, but she couldn't exactly just get up and leave to ask someone else.

"Y-Yes Sakura-san?

"You like Naruto, right?" The Hyuuga instantly turned into an inward pose, defending against the invasive question. The cherry blossom smiled as Hinata stuttered and slipped her way through her accusations. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

The low-esteemed kunoichi calmed down and answered with a whisper that could barely be heard, "Y-yes." She contemplated for a few minutes and continued, "Why do you ask?" She began to fidget with her fingers in the usual manner that she did when she thought about her loudmouthed crush.

"I was just wondering why you haven't told him yet."

At that statement Hinata's faced became completely red, and she passed out next to the bed. _ I wonder if she'll ever tell him. _ Sakura grabbed the small, decorative pillow she had behind her and began to fan her fellow kunoichi with the pillow.

Five minutes later, the Hyuuga had regained her consciousness and, by her appearance, had calmed down enough to activate her byakugan.

"I'm sorry, Hinata."

"N-No I am Sakura-san. I-I'm just…not good enough." To this statement, the pinked-pink haired kunoichi sat upright and stared furiously at the Hyuuga.

"Hinata!" The meek kunoichi jolted as Sakura had raised her voice, "You should never be embarrassed for how you feel. If you like Naruto, then good for you! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough."

Sakura's mind hat practically shut down. _You should never be embarrassed for how you feel. Great, I go through all of this trouble to realize it's my own advice I should take._ Sakura had relaxed in her seat, and silently watched the Hyuuga heir finish her duties.

Kakashi had finished off the last few drops of his morning pick-me-up and ventured back downstairs towards Sakura's apartment. He greeted the two ANBU standing outside her door, requesting any updates on visitors and endangerments. Fortunately, the only people that the two nin had seen were Hinata and Kakashi.

Upon entering the apartment, Kakashi heard the bath water filling the tub. The silver-haired jounin smirked and wiped the mental image of the two girls from his mind as he ventured into the kitchen and rummaged through the barren shelves of Sakura's refrigerator.

Suddenly, two loud screams were heard coming from the bathroom where Hinata and Sakura were. Kakashi bolted to the restroom door faster than it took the two ANBU to make it through the front door.

He opened the door, kunai in hand to prepare for a battle, only to discover the two ladies laying in the bathtub, Hinata, fully clothed and on top of the naked Sakura. One black eye met two green orbs and another scream followed.

Kakashi turned around abrubtly and cut off the two ANBU, "Everything's fine here, you can go back to your stations."

Without a word, the cat masked nin bowed in response and returned to their posts outside of the apartment.

Kakashi turned towards the bathroom and soaked in what he saw, to its full extent. He smiled and asked as seriously as he could, "Do you ladies need any help? Hinata hid most of Sakura's skin, but from what he could see, her skin was bright red, whether from fury or embarrassment, he didn't know.

"Kakashi…I think Hinata passed out when you opened the door," Sakura's voice shook so much, she could swear he would've thought an earthquake was happening.

It drove her nuts, but she heard him expel a small breath as he smirked. She couldn't see it, but it was evident in his voice, "I'll get her up." He walked over and turned the bathwater off first, ensuring both of the ladies didn't drown and slipped his arm around Hinata's waist.

Before he removed the unconscious kunoichi, Sakura's voice rang in his ears again, "Wait! Close your eyes. Please?" She was desperate. _Not like this, please don't let him see me like this. At least, not now._ Her tears were silent, and since Kakashi did as she begged him to do, he didn't notice her crying.

The jounin placed Hinata on the floor in Sakura's living room, putting a towel on her head, and rubbing her hair dry. He removed the jacket that she wore, making sure she was wearing a shirt on by searching for a collar. He placed the towel on top of her and returned to the bathroom.

The indignant look that the kunoichi in the tub gave Kakashi made him begin to laugh. She tightened her arms around her body, trying as hard as possible to hide everything from her former sensei.

"Don't laugh! This isn't funny." Sakura fumed. The jounin bent over holding his stomach as he began to laugh even harder.

"You have to admit," another chuckle, "this is a pretty humorous set of circumstances." He leaned against the doorframe and smiled at her, waiting for her to beg for his help.

She knew that face. Or at least, that specific look he had in his eye. The one that made her melt into a puddle, but she wasn't going to melt. It left no indication of lust or want. He was teasing her. Waiting for her to beg for his help.

_Fine!_ _I'll get out myself!_ Sakura attempted to raise her leg. She was trying to push the bathtub stopper down, that way she could use her arms to drag herself out of the tub. _ With all of this water, I'm just going to keep slipping._

She tried about four times and found that it was impossible. Her legs weren't going to respond, no matter how much she wanted to push it. Sakura didn't care at this point. Kakashi watched her struggling with her arms to pull herself out. She placed a hand on each side of the tub, pushing off like a male gymnast on the bars, however the water on her hands caused her slip and fall.

Before Sakura could catch herself, Kakashi's arm was around her waist. Within another instant her legs were sitting on his other arm and he was taking her to her room.

Kakashi set the cherry blossom on her bed and grabbed a pair of her black shorts, her red top with the family emblem and her crème overskirt out of the dresser that was opposite her bed.

He placed the clothes on her bed and made his way towards her door, "Do you need anything else?" Kakashi turned around and looked at Sakura. She grabbed the blanket and tightened it around her body.

"No, Thank you." Sakura turned to avoid eye contact and grabbed her clothes, "Wait, why did you grab my work clothes?"

"Well, I figured it would be best for you to get out for a little while, and since your kitchen is in need of food, I thought it would be best for us to go together."

"Oh, okay." Kakashi turned to leave the room and paused when he heard the kunoichi speak up, "Kakashi…Thank you."

He bowed his head and left the room to tend to Hinata. Sakura gazed down at the clothing that her former sensei had chosen for her. _Great…I guess I'll just go without underwear._ She chuckled softly. _He probably did it on purpose._

Hinata sat up and wrapped the towel even tighter around her cold, wet body. Kakashi entered the room and greeted the meek kunoichi. After apologizing multiple times to her superior, she grabbed her jacket and left the apartment in a hasty and confusing manner.

The jounin walked back towards the bedroom and knocked on the wall next to the door.

"Just a minute," Sakura quickly fidgeted with her shirt's zipper and pulled it up to her collarbone, "Okay."

He walked into the doorframe and inspected Sakura's capability to dress herself. Her skirt was lopsided and he took note to the excess zipper she didn't fasten on her shirt, "Maybe I should've gotten Hinata to dress you before she left."

"No, I'm fine," she tried to straighten her skirt. Kakashi approached her and began to zip up the rest of her shirt, kissing her neck before he completely closed the front. He moved on to a kiss on her mouth, surprising her when he forced some of his chakra into the kiss.

"Shall we go then?" Sakura's head was still spinning when he turned around and held his arms out behind him.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Well, you can't walk, and we were going to go shopping so, I'm going to carry you."

"Oh…" She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. In one swift motion, Kakashi stood up straight, lifting the kunoichi out of the bed. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and walked towards the doorway.

"Comfortable?"

"Y-yes." She buried her head into the back of his neck. His scent enveloped her senses: that same sandalwood scent, with the hint of musk. It comforted her so much. She was off on her own world, where her injury meant nothing, where Sasuke had never left, and the Akatsuki had never come after Naruto.

Kakashi enjoyed her heat on his back. He tried to think of other things, but his mind kept retracing back to the fact that he forgot to give her underpants. _Well…Maybe not forget. More like, intentionally not give them to her._ It wasn't purposely for perverted reasons; he just didn't want to humiliate the girl anymore by going through her panty drawer. As he walked down the streets with her on his back, he reconsidered which option would've been worse.

He was having enough trouble as is. It wasn't the fact that she was heavy. He had trained with multiple weights on his back for far longer distances than this one, but Sakura was like a china doll to him. He cared for her so much that he was afraid any wrong move might break her fragile appearance.

He knew that Sasuke's betrayal wasn't nothing to her. It still meant so much to her, but perhaps it was because no one had the nerve to actually talk to her about it. _Well, except for Naruto, but she's always just shrugged off what he's said._

"So…what do you plan on eating this week?"

"I don't know. You can get a week's worth of ramen for all I care." Her voice was muffled against his jacket's collar. The heat of her breath on his neck sent chills down his spine.

"Now, now Sakura. You and I both know that we need to get you food that will help you get better. You've got quite a tough week ahead of you."

"What?!" She sat bolt upright and threw her former sensei's balance off. He caught himself and stopped in his tracks.

"We're going to be training for you to regain your strength. The progress you made with your arm movements was much sooner than we expected, so I want to see if we can get you walking within the next three days, remember?"

"Oh…yea."

He smiled and spoke again, "I guess we forgot about your perfect chakra control, ne Sakura-chan?"

_Chan?_ She buried her face into his back again and nodded.

"Anyways, let's stop off here and get some fresh veggies." He shifted her weight on his back and let go of one of her legs. She remained in place as he picked out the vegetables he wanted and paid for them.

Kakashi looped the bag around the arm that was holding Sakura on and continued down the street. They made numerous stops, stocking up on many meats, veggies, and a nice selection of fruits as well.

Kakashi eventually placed Sakura on a small bench alongside their day's groceries, "I'm going to go get something else, stay here. If you need help just call me, or" he pointed down the street towards someone in a painted animal mask, "Our ANBU friends are right there. They'll be watching out for you."

He motioned with his hand towards the ANBU for them to move in closer. They moved in close enough to keep any eye on Sakura, but not too close for any person to know who they were protecting.

Kakashi left in a flash and went into a weapons store that was the next street over. He perused the numerous blades and other assorted instruments of death. _Which one would suit her?_ He paused, smiling when he saw it._ Perfect._ A pink sheated Katana was hanging on the wall, with numerous cherry blossom petals painted into looking like they were falling. It was near impossible to tell where the sheath ended and the handle of the blade began.

He picked up the pink Katana and tested it, pulling it out of its sheath and swinging a few times. His form was perfect and it seemed like he knew how to use every weapon as a master. He resheathed it and paid the store clerk for it, sealing it in a large brown box to hide the identity of the gift.

Kakashi then visited the kimono store where, after twenty minutes of searching, he found a similar pink cherry blossom pattern on a formal kimono. He purchased it, along with the rich red obi, and wrapped it in a brown paper, again to hide what it was.

It was about a half hour until Kakashi had returned to the bench where Sakura sat. And he returned with packages that she couldn't tell what they were, or who they were for. _People don't normally go to so much trouble to hiding what they bought unless it's for someone else._

He picked her up on his back like before and carried all of the days' purchased, except for the one small bag that Sakura got to carry, since she complained that he was trying to hold too much.

They had returned to her apartment, safely, and with the two ANBU nins standing at their posts. One of the ANBU had volunteered to take the bags into the kitchen as Kakashi carried the young kunoichi into her room.

The ANBU had left the apartment; Kakashi and Sakura remained in her room

He closed her bedroom door, to prevent any conversation reaching the black ops' ears, and removed his headband. Kakashi's hair fell over his eyes. It was awkward for his hair to be down like this. The roots gave him a small twinge of pain due to the different angle they were sitting at.

"I need to give some major chakra amounts." He laughed and scratched the back of his head, as if to stop the discomfort the strands of hair made, "I've been falling behind, so to speak." He removed the fabric that covered his strong jaw line.

Kakashi leaned down and kissed Sakura square on the lips. It wasn't a simple peck as he had given her before. It was a deep, passionate kiss, laced with the hot sensation of his chakra. To Sakura, it didn't hurt at all. She found her self becoming more aroused by the feeling.

She balled two fistfuls of his shirt into her hands, clenching for something to relieve her lustful responses. Each kiss he gave her drove her insane. She began moaning each time his tongue pierced between her lips. _God! Her sounds are going to get to me going if we don't slow down._

Kakashi stopped momentarily, taking in the ecstatic appeal of Sakura's face. Her jade green eyes opened and met his. They consumed him. More so than any genjutsu, even the Mangekyou Sharingan that Itachi had used on him.

It tugged at his heart: the way her eyes showed everything. The love she felt, the betrayal she endured, and the numerous life threatening moments she had faced. Kakashi resumed with the transfer of his chakra, after falling victim to her entrancing stare.

The jounin continued with his duty to give Sakura his chakra for approximately an hour, until he felt his body become slightly heavy. He pulled away from the kiss and took a deep breath, "Well, that's about as much as I can give you, for now."

"Thank…you, Kakashi-kun."

_Kun._ His mind wandered, again, to the days of his former team. After shaking off his reminiscence, Kakashi tucked a few roseate locks of hair behind Sakura's ear and kissed her neck, softly.

"You should get some rest. Another session like this one and you should be able to move your legs," He stood up and grabbed his mask, "We should start some training, too." He pulled the mask over his head and adjusted it around his nose. His hair was ruffled into even more of a spiked mess.

Sakura nodded in agreement while taking in every movement he made. Everything he did was so effortless. Maybe it was because she had to regain her strength for everything, or maybe it was because he was such a skilled nin, but he was extremely fluid with how he carried himself.

His back was turned to her, and as he walked to the door he turned around and started walking backwards, not losing a single step, "G'night Sakura-chan."

She relaxed against the headboard of the bed, "Goodnight Kakashi-kun."

When he returned to the living room, he noted that the ANBU who carried the groceries had decided to put them away in the kitchen. The two, anonymous brown packages laid on the counter.

The jounin unwrapped both and examined each gift closely. He then hung the kimono on the wall and the sword on the other. _ There. Something that suits my cherry blossom._ He smiled once more, as he moved to the bathroom to take his shower.

When he returned from the restroom, he laid on the couch with his baggy sweatpants and shirtless body hitting the couch with a little more gravity that he would've like to. He dozed off a few minutes later, satisfied with his accomplishment for the day.

**Yes! Another longish chapter, but hey it's been three weeks, I can afford to post a larger chapter. I must admit my chapters are getting a little, fluffish, but it's only to get to the exciting parts, I don't want to rush it all and leave holes! So in order for everything to work well, I have to add it.**

**Yes, so please, please feel free to enjoy and I absolutely LOVE all of your positive reviews! I get giddy from the support I receive from you all, and it makes my days worthwhile. I will also be posting some of my Inuyasha Fanfic as well so feel free to read that if the anime interests you as well. Thanks Friends! **


	7. Ghosts of Past

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto! Enjoy **

**Ghosts of past**

"_I believe the 'White Fang' is a true hero! Of course, those in the ninja world who break the rules and regulations are trash…but those who don't care about their companions are worse trash."_

_The young Kakashi sat with Rin in an opening in a pile of enormous rocks. _Wait…I know this… OBITO?! _Just as Kakashi recalled, his former self turned to look at his past companion. Obito was laying under a large boulder, half of his body can be seen, strewn in his own blood._

"…" _The young Kakashi stood frozen, while the ghostlike adult Kakashi stood over his former self, both with an expression that would've been indicative of someone punching them in the stomach._

"…_What would be good…I was thinking…and…now…I've come up with it…what…don't worry…it's not…useless…baggage…" The boy's breathing was becoming ragged, each word seemed to be a task in itself to deliver._

That's right, I remember saying something about pointless gifts. How they were just extra baggage for me to carry. _The older, transparent Kakashi rubbed his forehead and bit his lip._

"_It's…this Sharingan…of mine." Kakashi's hand slid from his forehead to his left eye. He traced the scar, "…The people in this village…what they must have been saying…that you're…a great jounin…that's… how I feel…Please accept it."_

_Rin rushed to Obito's side, placing her hands on his head and shoulder, "Kakashi come over here. We need to start quickly!"_

_The young Obito smiled, "…I'm already…going to die…But…I can become your eye…and from now on I will see the future…"_

_Kakashi watched in pain as Rin perfectly executed the Uchiha's wishes. _It went by so quickly, I barely remember Rin putting it in._ Kakashi burst out of the rocks and surveyed his enemy._

"_You're stubborn, aren't you? You're still alive…" The shinibi smiled confidently and noted Kakashi's face, "But you're still a brat… Shinobi don't cry…Come on crybaby! I'll break you apart!" The nin took his stance and waited for the attack._

"_Kakashi…" a weak voice came from the chasm that the three nin were trapped, "Take...care of…Rin."_

_The young white haired-jounin nodded in agreement and charged at the nin, chidori blaring. The nin revealed two hidden blades and arched his arms over the young ninja. Kakashi moved ever so slightly to the right and dodged both blades, and slamming his jutsu into the enemy's stomach. _

_The older, ghost Kakashi relaxed a bit and looked uncomfortable._ From this angle, I look so glorified, I was so angry, then. Rational thought was thrown to the wind, so careless.

_Young Kakashi returned to the hole where Rin was located._

"_KaKashi…take…take Rin…hurry …get out of here…the enemy's reinforcements…are coming…for sure…" the boy's breaths were even more ragged. It was inconceivable that he could even continue to keep speaking. _

"_Obito…" Rin continued holding the boy's band and looked at him solemnly._

"_It's alright…go…" He flicked her hand away, urging her to leave._

"_Rin." Kakashi held his hand out to his teammate. She slowly accepted his hand and they were gone before she even had a moment to bid farewell to her injured teammate._

_They were surrounded by more enemy nins. Kakashi took his stance, holding his gift from their sensei, ready for battle. _

"_I'll look after you for Obito…Because of that, I'll protect you, even if I die."_

"_Kakashi!"_

"_Rin, Obito liked you…loved you…you were important to him."_

"_Then…Kakashi…my feelings…I…"_

"_I was once… the kind of trash that would abandon you…" The girls face melted into a depressed appearance. Kakashi looked at his former teammate _Rin, I'm sorry._ Suddenly, Rin's face was replaced by a different one. _

_Sakura's face was placed where Rin's was. Her entire appearance changed. Pink hair replaced the blonde. Jade green replace the chocolate brown eyes that Rin had. _

"Sakura?"_ The older Kakashi looked confused._

_One of the nins charging on the younger Kakashi had dodged a flying kunai and grabbed the, now, Sakura, pulling her away from the battle. The enemy nin had jumped into a nearby tree._

"_KAKASHI!...PLEASE…HELP!" The enemy covered her mouth, but she was still reaching out towards the jounin._

"SAKURA!"_ The older Kakashi charged at the nin and fell through him as he attempted to kick. _Dammit!

_Sakura bit the enemy nin's hand and continued screaming, "Kakashi…somebody! HELP!"_

"_Sakura!!"_

Kakashi's eyes snapped open. He heard the struggle in the room and immediately grabbed his weapon pack that was laying next to the couch. The jounin made his way into the bedroom, discovering the two ANBU battling a shinobi who had Sakura draped over his shoulder.

The enemy was taller than Kakashi and filled in with muscle. He wasn't big, but he was larger than his three opponents. The jounin took note to another mist nin lying on the floor, dead. Placing his attention back on the problem at hand, Kakashi withdrew three kunai from his pack and took his stance.

_This is bad. He's using her as a shield. _One of the Anbu created a clone and sent it to attack with some simple taijutsu. The enemy nin kicked the clone away without a second thought and caught the real Anbu's sword with his hand, behind him.

The other ANBU member held her hands together and suddenly vanished. Kakashi maintained his focus on the enemy. _Genjutsu, good. If I didn't know any better I'd say they're Genma and Kurenai. _

Within a few seconds the nin froze in place, dropping Sakura to the floor. Kakashi rushed to catch her. He knew it had to be Kurenai. She was the best genjutsu user in the village.

The second ANBU bound the enemy's hands and feet with an extremely intricate knot: one that seemed impossible to undo. Kakashi smiled. _Yep. That's Genma alright._

"Do you think you can handle watching her while we take these two to the Godaime's tower?" The ANBU grabbed the mist nin by his binds and started dragging him towards the window.

"Sure, but send some other nins to take your posts as soon as possible." Kakashi watched as Kurenai bent over and pulled the kunai out of the dead ninja's neck. After wiping the blood off on the enemy's shirt, she handed the weapon to Kakashi and saluted.

"Hai!"

"Oh, and thanks guys."

"Hey no prob Hatake!" Genma hoisted the man onto his shoulder, similar to how Sakura was slung on the enemy's minutes before, "But you owe us a round of drinks next time we're at the bar."

Though he couldn't see it, Kakashi knew there was a smug smile plastered on Genma's face when he said that. Genma gave the silver-haired jounin a thumbs up and left through the window. Kurenai disappeared moments after her ANBU partner, leaving Sakura and Kakashi alone.

He looked down at the fragile girl in his arms. She was shaking uncontrollably with her face buried into his chest. Kakashi could hear the sound of her sobs and her tears were wet against his body. It practically killed him. Each tear, each muffled sob, each time he felt her body shake made him feel like he should've been the one lying on the floor with a kunai in his neck.

The only thing he could think of was to hold her. It was his fault. He pulled her into a tighter hug, trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." Her sobs slowed and she sniffled a couple of times to regain her voice.

"It's not your fault, " She sniffled again and looked up at him. Her eyes were glittered with the tears she had just cried out. It was just then that she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. He was much buffer than she thought he was and his chest was devoid of any chest hair. She felt her face redden, slightly, as she smirked a little, "What were you dreaming about?"

His face remained cold, " Nothing."

Sakura's face melted into a serious expression, again, "You were screaming my name again."

His eyes open wide for a split second and he relaxed again, "Well, it was nothing inappropriate."

"I thought you said you weren't my teacher anymore." If it were possible Sakura looked even more disheartened than she did before. She pushed away from him, only to feel his arms tighten his hold around her.

"You're right, I'm not." Kakashi removed a hand from her waist and slowly removed the mask, "I want to be more."

Her eyes met his for a split second before he kissed her. Her heart raced. _More…_ It had been so long since she had seen a man with eyes of desire. She was so young then, and perhaps foolish to expect her determination to win over Sasuke's cold heart.

Kakashi's hand moved to the back of her neck, bunching her hair between his fingers. The kiss got harder and more passionate with each passing second, but something in his mind told him to slow down. He ended the kiss and pulled away far enough to see her face.

Something about her was different. She had grown up. Her face seemed womanlier to him and she didn't act like the naïve girl she once was. She glowed. Kakashi picked her up and placed her in the bed.

"Sakura, I'm sorry I didn't…wake up."

Her smile put him at ease and her medic nin self came into full effect, "You were drained of chakra, your body needed rest, and it wouldn't be on full alert like when you are when you've conserved your energy all day. It's fine."

"Well, we better get some rest. We're going to have to be on full alert at all times, now."

He stood up to go back into the living room to sleep when Sakura caught his hand, "Please…don't leave me alone. I…I don't want to be alone tonight." Her eyes pleaded with him. From what he could tell, it seemed like her abnormal human strength was coming back due to the fact that her hold on his hand felt like a vice grip.

Kakashi sat back down on the bed and looked at his former pupil comfortingly, "I'll stay."

She relaxed and let go of his hand, "Thank you." He picked her up and placed her closer to the wall side of her bed. Kakashi got into the bed as well, situating the blankets so that they covered both of them. He laid his arm out on her pillow and turned towards the kunoichi lying next to him. He lifted his other arm and pulled Sakura next to him, allowing her to rest her head on the arm on her pillow.

It was slightly uncomfortable at first, but she managed to find a position that put her at ease. He was warm, warmer than warm. She leaned against his bare chest and pressed her body against his to absorb his heat.

Kakashi tightened his arm around her waist as she adjusted. He focused as much energy as possible to remain calm as he felt her push her breasts against his chest. _Dammit! Why did I have to be nice and slow things down?_ She mumbled his named as she dozed off, forcing him to crack a smile as he watched her face. _That's why._

He fell asleep a few minutes after she did. Both of them enveloped in the others' heat, dreaming of each other's company.

**YAY! Next chapter is up, allowing you all to become even more addicted to the goodness of KakaSaku. This has most of the final moments of Obito if you haven't read the manga at all. I personally cried when Obito died.**

**A short history of me: I began adoring the Sasusaku pairing when the anime first came out. (I still do like then, but well Sasuke leaving just made things fall apart.) I somehow became completely OBSESSED with the KakaSaku movement thanks to Leafygirl! (She has changed my perspective of the couple altogether) Well anyways if you haven't read her work, PLEASE do so, b/c she is the best writer of KakaSaku I know. **

**I was considering writing a side chapter of Genma and Kurenai. Sort of a mini fun story. Hopefully it will be funny. But no worries, I do not plan on pairing them up.**


	8. Returning Strength

**Alas! Naruto and it's characters o no belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san!**

**Returning Strength**

Kakashi awoke first, holding his angel in his arms. He lay there, staring at her, for almost ten minutes when she began to wake up. The only movement that she made within those ten minutes was cuddling closer, which was probably for more heat.

Sakura's green eyes opened slowly. She had to adjust to the bright morning sun coming in through her window. She was warm, and felt completely rested and refreshed and…_When did I get a stuffed animal?! _ Her eyes opened quickly to take in the sight of her former sensei's bare chest. Her face went red. _Oh, yeah. _

She tilted her face to meet his, not knowing that he was staring at her with the eyes only a man in love could have. They were soft, softer than what Sakura could ever imagine his eyes could have been, since they did have such a sharp contrast of black and red.

Sakura reached her hand up to his left eye, softly tracing the scar that ran over it, "Who did this?" Her eyes were empathetic, and he couldn't tell if she wanted to know who made the scar or who healed it.

"That's a story for another day," he continued to stare at her, but some of the softness had left his face.

In response, Sakura tucked her arm back down towards her stomach and curled into a ball. She was withdrawing from his harsh response. _I guess we're not as close as I hoped we were._

He took note to her reaction, and pushed her shoulder back. He was opening her up to him; he was forcing her to come out of her depressed encasement she formed around herself.

Without any notice, he was kissing her, practically mauling her with the amount of force he was using. She responded, pushing back on him with just as much pressure. It was an argument without words or fists, and from what both of them could tell, Kakashi was winning.

She conceded with this battle and gently placed her hand on his shoulder as a sign to slow down. Kakashi broke the kiss, staring at the blossom in his arms. She still looked like she wasn't satisfied with his response, but she understood. It was how she felt about the night Sasuke left. She just wasn't ready for anyone else to know.

The jounin stood up and stared at Sakura's bedroom window. The glass was scattered about the floor and a slight breeze came through the opening. He accessed the area and the damage from the previous night's confrontation. He looked a the floor where the dead nin laid before Kurenai removed him and grabbed the kunai off of the nightstand, "Did you use this to kill that one assassin?"

She bowed her head down in shame, "Yes."

He flashed a small smile at her and looked down at the Kunai. It still had some dried blood on the small rope around the handle.

"This is the kunai that I was going to reopen your wound with, isn't it?"

She nodded, maintaining her focus on her hands that were balling the blanket up. Sakura felt the urge to cry, tears burning her eyes for release. She blinked them back and continued to maintain her stone cold façade. _I don't want to be seen as weak. I was like that with the old team seven; I refuse to be weak again._

"Sakura," he sat back down on the bed and pulled her into one of the most comforting hugs she had ever been encased in before, "It had to be done. It was either kill or be killed."

She shook her head furiously, trying to convince herself otherwise, "I-I'm a medic nin. We're not supposed to just kill people. We're suppose to save lives and prevent the loss of life."

"That is true. It's an oath most medical nins take, but self-defense is different than pure murder or a mission. I'm glad you killed him, though."

The urge to cry faded as he held her, "Why are you glad?" she pushed away from him, enough to see his face as he spoke.

"I don't know what I would have done if I lost you." He leaned down toward her face and brushed his cheek against hers as he kissed and sucked her neck. Her heartbeat hastened to the point where she felt like she was going to explode.

It was another moment that she wished she could freeze time for. His warmth was intoxicating and she couldn't bear it when he pulled away from her.

He whispered into her ear, sending more shivers down her spine, "We should probably continue with out chakra sessions." His voice was so smooth. It made her think of the comforting heat that a fire would provide on a cold night.

Sakura nodded in agreement as she could hear his breath in her ear when he smiled. Kakashi brushed cheeks again and moved his lips towards hers with his chakra condensed in his mouth.

The session was much more than their others. Something more was there. She felt consumed, completely.

Kakashi stopped giving Sakura his chakra after a half hour and smiled gently, "I'm going to go make us some food, but first I want you to try and move your leg."

She attempted to oblige, concentrating every amount of energy she had into her right leg. _Come on. Get up! Move! _ She felt the strain on each muscle. Sakura' leg finally began to rise after her fourth try. She was panting, and sweat covered her large brow line. The kunoichi glanced over at her former sensei and smiled with confidence. It may have been only a few inches, but to both of them, it meant she was one step closer to being able to walk.

"Excellent," Kakashi smirked, "Well, I should go make breakfast, but" he looked at the broken window and down at the floor, "perhaps it would be best for me to clean up this mess first."

"Sure, but I feel horrible for making you clean up everything."

"Heh, it's fine," He bent over and began to pick up the larger portions of glass and laid them gently in the bottom of her small, bedroom trash can, "I'm going to need a larger trash can." He picked up the little bin. His large hands made it seem like a toy bucket, yet he handled it with as much finesse as he did with his kunai and shuriken.

The jounin walked toward the bedroom door and saw the edge of the cherry blossom encased blade hanging on the living room wall. He paused, placed the trash bin on the floor near the wall and turned towards his blossom.

"Close your eyes." He made his way toward the bed again, lifting the young girl up in a bride position. She was as light as a feather.

"W-Why?" Sakura pulled her arms in close to her body as a means to avoid hitting him as he carried her. On top of that, she was still slightly sweaty from working so hard to get her leg to work, making her feel horrible about him carrying her like this.

"Just do it." He winked at her, his red eye sitting exposed by itself.

She obliged, still attempting to force all of her giddy, girly moments of bliss away from seeing another new expression on his uncovered face. Kakashi carried his blossom into the living room. He gently laid Sakura on her couch and, after removing a few of his personal effects from the floor, held her hand, as he sat next to her.

"Okay, open your eyes." He watched every motion as is time weren't moving. Kakashi didn't know it, but he held his breath as he waited for the response she would give him.

The pink haired kunoichi opened her eyes, slowly, as she soaked in the intoxicating anticipation she felt. Her face portrayed utter shock as she took in the sight of her newly decorated living room. _Oh my god!_

It was better than what he could have ever asked for. "Do you like it?"

She turned towards him, with the shocked expression still painted on her gorgeous face, "I love it! Thank you so much…" Her face melted as the realization hit her, "why…did you do this?"

Suddenly he felt like a train had hit him across the face, "Because I wanted to."

"But—" she found his index finger pressing against her mouth, ensuring she couldn't protest his reasoning any further.

"It was just a simple gift, Sakura. Accept it without questioning." He removed his finger and replaced it with his own lips. A short kiss, since he needed to tend to other things in the apartment, "I'll be back."

Kakashi handed Sakura the remote to her television, grabbed the larger trash bin from her kitchen and returned to cleaning glass in her bedroom. Sakura surfed the channels while she waited for Kakashi to finish with cleaning. She had turned down the volume to ensure she could hear every movement he made.

After about ten minutes, the jounin had walked back into the room and placed the bin full of glass on the counter as he made his way towards the sink with a hastened pace. Kakashi immediately turned on the sink and ran the water over his hand.

"What happened?" Sakura straightened her posture to see what he was doing. She didn't need to see to know what happened; he had cut himself on a piece of glass, and was rinsing out the wound.

"Nothing." His pride wouldn't let him tell her what he did. With all of the training and skill he had with sharp blades and other weapons, he managed to cut himself on a piece of glass lying on the floor.

She cracked a gentle, motherly smile and pointed to the closet, "Could you get me the green bag sitting on the second shelf of the closet?"

Kakashi obliged, holding his hand up to avoid getting blood on anything else. The bag was small and rather quaint. It looked like a make up bag that any other kunoichi would have, but Sakura never had an opinion of how she looked to her teammates. The mission always came first, and make-up was only used for disguises, if necessary.

The silver haired man sat next to her on the couch as he handed the bag to the kunoichi resting. Without hesitation she retrieved a small bottle of antiseptic, a gauze pad and some gauze. She rubbed the cut on his palm, softly with the antiseptic, and gathered as much chakra she could muster to her lips.

While lifting his hand to her mouth, Kakashi knew what she was doing, "Wait. Sakura-chan, you're not strong enough to do any of that yet."

"Relax Kakashi-kun." She lifted her head ever so slightly to allow him to see the determination she had, "You underestimate me too much."

Her statement was sharp, biting even. It seemed to cut him more than the glass did earlier. Her lips made contact with the cut, and he felt the pain fade away slowly.

Sakura pulled her head back up and gasped lightly for air. She wasn't out of breath, but she was inhaling a little faster than she was before, "I'm sorry. I couldn't focus enough to heal it completely." She knew she wouldn't be able to, though she had prayed he wouldn't feel the pain as much.

"It's perfect, now." He raised his hand and laced a few of her roseate locks between his fingers. He pulled her into another kiss, moving his hand down to her shoulder, and brushing the strap of her tank top down.

An unexpected knock on the door startled both of the nin causing both to jump away from each other immediately. Kakashi retrieved his mask and shirt from the floor and slid both of them back on with more finesse than a ballerina performing Swan Lake.

He answered the door, finding the meek Hinata clasping onto her small notebook with a death grasp. She avoided all eye contact and walked straight to Sakura on her couch after he gestured her into the apartment.

"Hey Hinata, how are you doing?" Sakura noticed the blush that has crept along the cheeks of her fellow kunoichi and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, "Hinata, everything is fine, that incident yesterday is all done. No worries?" She flashed her innocent, "cheer up" smile, hoping it would calm the Hyuuga down.

As expected Hinata was calm down and returned to her naturally beautiful, porcelain skin tone, "S-Sakura-san, can you move your legs yet?"

"I did earlier. Let me see if I can get it again." The young blossom struggled to lift her legs again. She achieved her goal much quicker than earlier, and wasn't panting as much as she was before.

The Hyuuga took more notes and performed her usual task, noting each level she saw. Her eyebrow twithed as she took note to something about Sakura's chakra network, "Sakura-san…did you use a technique today?"

"What?" The cherry blossom was in utter shock as she attempted to think of an excuse.

Kakashi decided to cut in, before Sakura would mistakenly say something, "We were practicing her healing capabilities. I wanted to see how much control she had as of today."

"Oh. Okay." Hinata took another note and bowed to leave, "Oh, also, Kakashi-senpai, I thought I should tell you that Lady Hokage has decided to supply more guards to protect you and Sakura-san. She wanted to come here, herself, but she had many meetings, today."

"Thank you very much, Hinata," He bowed in return and ushered her out of the apartment, inspecting where the guards were stationed. _Six ANBU in the Hall? Isn't that a bit conspicuous? It's suspicious at least._

"Sakura, I want to get you standing today, if possible." He closed the door, locking it behind him, "but first, I want to get us some nutritious food."

"Sure!" Sakura twiddled her thumbs, trying to decide if she could ask him what she wanted to not. _Just do it already Haruno! _"Uhm, Kakashi-kun may I ask a favor?"

"Anything." He grabbed a pan from under her stove and opened the fridge, grabbing assorted goodies he was going to make for his princess.

"I know I am trained properly in chakra control, allowing to have somewhat 'super' strength."

"Mhmm?" He cracked three eggs into the pan and started scrambling them into a small omelet.

"But It doesn't do me much good to have that strength if I can't hit my target," Her mind flashed back to the day she, Naruto and Kakashi had battled after their two and a half years of training. _I couldn't touch him. Not one hit!_ "Could you train me to move faster, like you did with Sasuke right before the Chuunin exams?"

He paused in his tracks and turned towards her, "Sakura, Are you sure you want that? I mean, you are already trained so well. Adding another quality to your fighting may adjust it, weakening your other fighting aspects."

"I promise I'll try my hardest. You and I both know I need to be able to hit my targets to do the damage necessary."

He sighed._ She is an incredibly smart girl. _He did a once over, looking at her exposed skin from her camisole and shorts. _Well, woman,_ "Fine, we'll start that tomorrow. You need to stand first."

Her eyes had brightened up, seeming even livelier than she could have possibly ever appeared. Kakashi had finished with the food and gave a large bowl of rice and other assorted meats and omelet to the cherry blossom sitting on the couch. He accompanied her on the sofa.

Breakfast was finished and cleaned within an hour, and Kakashi picked up Sakura under her arms and positioned her to stand. He placed his hands on her waist and continued to hold her while he anticipated her to stand.

He eased up on his grasp as she began to feel the weight of her body on her feet. She could feel her knees begin to buckle and grabbed tightly onto his hands as a sign to not let go.

She heard him breath out as he smiled lovingly, "It's okay I won't let go until you tell me to."

"I…" She thought it through before she said it. _No! I don't want to give up! I won't say I can't. I will!_ She braced herself on both of his hands and concentrated all of her energy and chakra to her legs._ Please! I have to._

Her legs gained strength and she felt Kakashi's hands leave her waist. Sakura maintained her stare in front of her as she focused all of her energy into standing. She continued to stand for another three minutes and began to collapse. As usual, Kakashi was there to catch her, and ensure she didn't get hurt.

"You are wonderful!" He whispered in her ear. Even though his mask still covered his mouth, she could feel the heat radiating from each breath he expelled. He settled on the floor where she stood and placed her in his lap.

Sakura pulled his mask down and claimed the prize, she felt, she had earned from her hard work. She met his lips with hers, finding him to withdraw at first, but gradually lean into it with each passing second.

Sakura broke the kiss off and stared at Kakashi's discolored eyes, pleading with her green orbs, "May I have chakra, please?"

He cracked the same masculine smile that Sakura had found sweet ecstasy in every time he showed it to her. Kakashi obliged, concentrating chakra to his mouth and supplying it to his angel as she had pleaded.

Her body began to tingle from his energy entering her. She felt that wondrous sensation that she had from the last time he gave her chakra. Her moans began to grow with intensity as did her physical responses.

It took a while for Kakashi to realize that Sakura was slightly arching her back as she sat on top of him, and how excited he was getting. He broke away from her again and laid her on the couch, kneeling next to the out of breath kunoichi. Her eyes still had the lustful desire that he ached for, but he knew better than to take advantage of a girl who was under extreme physical and emotional stress.

"I'm going to take a short shower. When I get back out, do you want to continue with training? Maybe you can take a few steps today?" Kakashi's body was heavier than he had expected it to be. He had gotten so caught up in the moment that he gave her far more chakra than he was expecting to. He sluggishly (at least for Kakashi's standards of sluggish) arose from the floor and rushed to the bathroom.

He stood under the freezing cold water for at least ten minutes, feeling all of his excitement turn into fatigue._ Damn! I completely lost track of time. I feel so drained._

He had redressed himself and returned from the depths of the bathroom to find Sakura standing and taking a step toward the kitchen. From what he could tell she was already about five steps away from the couch. Kakashi pushed some of the locks away from his Sharingan and tried to access Sakura's chakra._ It may not be as obvious as the Byakugan, but I can still see _some_ chakra patterns._ Her flows were doing well, still a bit rugged considering what she went through, but he could see, about two more sessions and Sakura would be able to start heavily training again.

"Sakura-chan, please don't push yourself too hard. We don't need you getting hurt."

She nodded, taking one last step towards the counter. Kakashi returned Sakura to the couch, replaced his mask and stepped out into the hallway to speak to an ANBU. He instantly recognized Genma from the night before and beckoned him closer.

"Hey, Genma, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Hatake, but it'll cost you another round of drinks when we go out."

"Fine," it was clearly evident that Kakashi didn't mind getting drinks for his friends at all, "Could you find Gai and ask him for a set of training weights, similar to Lee's, but lighter."

"Sure."

"Thanks, Genma."

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes." With that, Genma had vanished, leaving five ANBU in the hallway, and Hatake Kakashi standing in the doorway.

**Hello all! Sephy here and excited to get this post up! I know this isn't the most interesting story of all time, but I currently working on a slight….well let's just say it's the chapter that makes this story rated M. LAWL!**

**As much as I'd love to say that I'm chugging through it, I'm not. I want to, but I'm kind of a prude about these things and the kind of "intimacy" that I want for it makes my cheeks blush at the thoughts of these things. I'm rather shy about writing these sorts of things, and I'm trying to make it more…romantic and not all about roughing it up. Anyways I'll try and get through it with how I want it to come across. It may take a little more time though.**

**Thanks for all of your support and great reviews! (They actually motivate me to write more!) May you all have a wonderful week or two and I hope to have the next chapter up soon!**


	9. Understood Love

**Chapter 9**

**All characters belong to Master Masashi Kishimoto!**

**Understood Love**

The rest of the day passed quickly and uneventful, with the exception of Genma's twenty minutes stretching into two hours.

An ANBU had escorted two carpenters to the apartment to fix Sakura's window, on Tsunade's order. The cherry blossom had managed to walk, without any struggle, of course, after draining more of Kakashi's chakra.

They both lay on her couch watching TV until Sakura heard Kakashi's breathing get heavier. _Awww he's asleep._ Little did she know, she had taken far more chakra in this one day than she did for all of the other sessions.

She snuck into her bedroom like the nin she was trained to be, and silently strapped the weights to her calves. _I bet Lee's are much heavier._ She inwardly smiled and imagined herself bolting around as fast as Lee and Sasuke. _Well, maybe not _that _fast, but faster than what I could do. _ The Kunoichi paced around her room for a couple of minutes and removed the weights, finding it slightly easier to walk than before.

Sakura returned to the living room, noted Kakashi was still asleep and decided to sit down next to him again. It felt good to rest, since she could control her movements again. She stared down at her former sensei, scanning his appearance. Sakura's eyes paused when she saw his scar over his eye, and quickly wiped the thought from her mind tracing over his features until she noted his lips.

The fabric was scrunched slightly around his jaw, wrinkling the mask, but she could still see the outline of his luscious lips. Sakura slowly tucked her forefingers under the edge of the mask, paused to see if he would wake up, and, after declaring that his breathing was the same, slid the fabric down to reveal his gorgeous face.

She contemplated her options for a moment, and leaned down to kiss him; A soft, sensual kiss that suited the quiet moment. She pulled away and turned beat red when she noticed Kakashi's eyes open to meet hers. He smiled in a cunning and cocky manner.

"So, what other things have you been doing to me while I sleep?"

Sakura quickly pulled away from him, but failed to escape from his grip, "It was just a sweet kiss…" She paused as the dirty thoughts crept into her mind, "Why? Were you hoping for more?" She smiled in a flirtatious manner and looked at him in the eyes.

His face melted into a serious appearance, "Would you hate me if I did?"

Her smile faded and she could feel the tension in the air, "I could never hate you."

He sat up, maintaining a hold on her hands. His eyes locked on to hers the entire time, but they were soft and almost begging for her affection. He leaned in to kiss her with the passion that he had been holding back for her sake.

Sakura could feel it, that urge that he had been so polite to banish the past few days. She felt it, the heat that radiated between them, the passion that protected this moment, the lust that led to the next. He slid his hand under the strap to her tank top and began to slide it down, changing his mind halfway through and replacing the strap to its previous position.

He backed away and stared at the floor in contemplation. Swinging his legs over the edge of the sofa, he sat hunched over to think.

"Kakashi-kun…am I that…displeasing to you?" She felt the burn of tears trying to creep out of her eyes.

"No, it's not that." He still looked at the floor, resting his head in his palms and his elbows on his knees. Thoughts were racing through his mind a mile a minute. _What if…? She's your former student. She's not emotionally ready. She's eight years younger than you! What if it didn't work out? Team Kakashi would be disbanded. It wouldn't hurt only her. What about Naruto and Sai? And what about her feelings for Sasuke?_

"Then what is it?" She pulled her arms in close to her, unconsciously pulling away from the world to mope by her lonesome. She often liked to seclude herself when someone wasn't satisfied with her.

"I just…I care for you, but there are so many other things that keep reminding me about us." He turned towards her and noted the secluded position she was sitting in, "What if it didn't work out? Naruto, Sai, our team would be dismantled, again."

She flinched a little when he said again. She knew whom he was referring to. _Sasuke_.

"The age difference is a big problem too. I'm so much older than you Sakura, not exactly acceptable in Konoha." He maintained his posture, staring at her. He was trying to see how she would react to his comments.

"You know, I usually overanalyze everything, but I can't throw away what I feel for you because of logic." Sakura fidgeted with her fingers and sat up straight and more boldly when she came to an answer, "Haven't you ever just considered emotions? Your feelings for others and not what's best if something were to happen?"

He turned away and stared at the floor again.

"I care about you. I lot. I refuse to let you push me away when I know you care about me too. "

"But Sakura, I don't want to lose you as a friend, and Naruto as well as everyone else who cares about you. They're all my friends, and if it doesn't work out then…"

"You'd never lose me." She slid closer to him and wrapped her arm through his, "because… I love you."

He turned to her and absorbed her affectionate gaze. His tense body relaxed. The jounin laced his fingers into her hair and kissed her, without holding back. He did care, and he loved it that she opened her heart to him. It made it possible for him to open his heart, even just a little, for her.

Kakashi slid Sakura's camisole strap down her shoulder and kissed the crook of her neck. Each kiss sent her on a euphoric high. Kakashi lifted the blossom off of the couch and, while continuing to kiss her, carried her to her bedroom.

The jounin closed the door, swiftly, with his foot as he entered the small bedroom. Kakashi gently placed the roseate-haired kunoichi on her bed and quickly, yet fluidly, straddled her right leg and slid his hand under the bottom edge of her shirt.

Her skin was warm, but his hands were warmer. He steadily slid his hand up under her shirt until he reached her soft, delicate breasts. Kakashi softly massaged the blossoms bosom, absorbing her body's twitches and high pitched squeaks and moans. He slid her shirt above her head and threw it on the floor, revealing her flawless and alabaster toned skin.

Sakura mimicked Kakashi's previous motion by sliding her hands under his onyx shaded t-shirt and removing it in a similar fashion to how he removed her tank top. With this new opportunity of both of them being shirtless, Kakashi pulled his cherry blossom into a hug. She absorbed his heat and both met a new state of ecstasy through the feel of each other's skin: hers was soft like velvet: his was smooth and warm.

After a few minutes of this moment had passed, the silver hair nin loosened his hold on the kunoichi and kissed her with an animalistic desire. His hand moved to her thigh, first pulling her closer to him, then gradually sliding in and then up toward the heat that she was radiating. He moved painstakingly slow, ensuring that every second felt like a year to her. The anticipation was what he enjoyed so much. He knew she wanted him just like he wanted her, but he was a cold bastard and wanted to enjoy the brief moments before he finally took her.

Kakashi's fingers finally made their way to her, but he wasn't willing to rush straight into everything. He rubbed her slowly outside of her shorts, feeling the moisture soak through the two layers of fabric she still had on, and absorbing her slight whimpers.

The silver haired jounin moved his hand up and slid it down the front of her shorts, momentarily playing with her thin pink hair and moving down towards her practically dripping opening. He played with her for a little while, starting at one finger and gradually moving up to two, then three. By the time she started begging for him to stop, he had worked himself up so much that he literally ripped her shorts and panties off in one swift motion.

Kakashi's remaining articles of clothing were removed just as swiftly as Sakura's were. He pulled her closer to him, taking in her soft skin and her gentle body heat. Before taking it any further, Kakashi wanted to make absolutely sure that Sakiura was ready for the next step.

Sakura _was_ nervous, but she knew that she wanted this. She loved him. Her eyes showed her nervousness, and Kakashi did pick up on it, but when he looked at her in a questioning manner, she nodded ever so slightly to show that she was ready.

He brushed her cheek ever so lightly with the back of his hand, trying to be as gentle as possible, and easing her mind. He slowly entered her, hearing her gasp and watching her grimace at the initial wave of pain. Sakura dug her nails into his back as she tried to get past the pain.

Quickly, the pain had developed into a feeling that Sakura never could have imagined. She felt full, not just physically, but emotionally full with all of Kakashi's pent up feelings. She truly understood everything about this love she had never acknowledged for seven years. It quietly slept within her, barely being heard until she finally had time to slow down and allow the world around her catch up.

With each new thrust, Sakura would emit a louder moan, and Kakashi would find a newer high from the moment. He took in the faces his blossom would make, memorizing the lustful and ecstatic gaze her green eyes had.

Sakura had arched her back when Kakashi had managed to hit just the right spot, barely managing to breathe out. He kissed her softly and smiled devilishly while looking at her. The jounin lifted her up to sit on him and lay on his back, allowing him to go in as deep as possible.

She quickly found this position to be far more arousing and started lifting herself off of him and sliding back down. She continued this procedure to get more moans from her former sensei until her legs began to fail on her.

Kakashi smiled and looked at his blossom, trying to put her at ease, "I'm sorry. I forgot your legs weren't completely ready for this kind of stress." He shifted and laid her back down underneath him, thrusting deeper and faster than he did before. He purposely aimed for that perfect spot that she would squeal for and they both were overcome with the ecstatic high from their orgasms.

They both fell asleep shortly after their "session." Sakura lying partially on Kakashi's chest, with her hair matted under her head. Kakashi had one arm tucked under the pillow his head lay on: his other was wrapped around the kunoichi's waist.

**Yes! So this isn't as…lemony good as other stories like to get into detail with the… negative sounding words. I tried to be a bit romantic, however it does seem like I rushed into things, but then again, they have been putting it off for a while cause she wasn't feeling well! So…yeah, perhaps too romantic, but I am a woman and this is how I felt it should be portrayed. **

**I hope you all enjoyed, the next chapters are going to gain a fast pace (I hope) since our lovely couple will be exposed to some turmoil and drama!! GASP Thanks for all of the reviews! Inspiration for my work tormented world! I love you all!**


	10. Forced Space

**None of the characters belong to me. They are Masashi Kishimoto's**

**Forced Space**

Both nin were abruptly awakened by the sound of Genma knocking on the bedroom door, "Hey, Hatake! You better get up, and FAST, the Hokage is on her way right now."

The silver haired jounin slid out of bed and quickly slipped his clothes on. He turned and noted his cherry blossom, sitting in the bed, holding the sheet up to hide her body. She was different. He did notice she was a woman when their relationship first started, but now, she really _was_ a woman. She glowed with the radiant light of a girl in love.

He grabbed his mask, brushed a lock of her hair aside, kissed her, and slid out of the room. Genma was standing in the living room with his mask on top of his head and looking at Kakashi with a slightly jealous, yet triumphant expression.

"So, Kakashi…"

"Not now, Shiranui." He inwardly smiled with the knowledge that Genma was jealous.

Tsunade walked in through the door with Hinata following behind her. Genma quickly slid his mask back down over his face and stood in the proper ANBU stance.

The godaime shot the ANBU a disapproving glance, dismissing him from the apartment. She sighed deeply, turned her attention to Kakashi and squinted at him in an accusing manner. The silver haired jounin smiled and waved at the Hokage, "Good morning Tsunade-sama."

"Good morning…Kakashi." She was uneasy, and she couldn't place where it was coming from.

Sakura had emerged from her bedroom, adorned in her work clothes, with crème legwarmers lying overtop of the hidden weights on her calves. "Good morning Tsunade-sama," She raised her hand in a motion similar to a wave and smiled enthusiastically.

"Good morning Sakura…?" Tsunade eyed Sakura over and tried to find what was so different about her today.

"Good morning Hinata." Sakura closed her eyes and smiled with her innocent face.

"Hinata, Sakura, let's perform the check-up in the bedroom. Kakashi, you stand outside the door and watch guard."

"Hai." He brought his right fist to his chest and pushed it down to his side quickly.

The three kunoichi entered the bedroom and closed the door behind them, preparing for the short medical check up. Sakura sat on her bed, Tsunade knelt next to her on the floor, and Hinata stood directly in front of the blossom, preparing her Byakugan.

With a quick hand sign and a severely concentrated look on her face, the meek Hyuuga activated her kekkei genkai and read the medic nin's chakra levels. Her face was drenched with shock, noticing the levels that Sakura had, she had to have had some drastic chakra channeling sessions to be able to obtain that much.

Tsunade took the usual signs that any medic would take, blood pressure, heartbeat, eyes, nose, ears; Sakura was making far more progress than she would've expected by now.

Hinata noted the increase in the blossom's chakra and handed the notebook to the Godaime. Tsunade took her notes down as well, not even looking at Hinata's tidbit of information until after she was done. The Hyuuga's facts were read shortly after the Godaime had finished with her notes and, just like the Hyuuga, Tsunade's face was covered with pure shock.

Tsunade turned to Hinata and locked eyes with her, "Are you positive these are the results?" The meek Kunoichi nodded and refused to look at Sakura, afraid she would explode at her just like her master.

Tsunade's mind quickly piece the puzzle together and the answer came to her faster than she could've smacked Jiraiya through a series of stone walls.

"Excuse me Sakura, Hinata please stay here until I return." The blonde, pigtailed woman stood up and walked to the door, knocking slightly on it to alert that she was coming out.

She closed the door behind her and motioned for the Jounin to follow her into the living room, "Kakashi, is there anything you want to tell me?"

He stood straight like a pupil who was going to be punished, "Not in particular,"

She sat down on the couch and interlaced her fingers in a similar fashion to how she would in her office, "You know it can't work, Kakashi." She looked up to meet his eyes and found no response from him, "She won't be able to persevere as she has been able to if you're always protecting her. Her abilities can only progress if she has the mindset to. You are her teacher, It would never work out."

"Tsunade-sama, if I may say so, you have control over every aspect of her life: her eating habits, her jutsus, and even what she wears, but you have no control over who she loves and what she chooses to do with her relationships."

The Hokage's brow furrowed in an enraged manner, "Kakashi! Think about this! Do you honestly wish to inhibit the greatest possible medical nin this village has ever seen?! Not only that, but you risk the chance of breaking the entire team apart and you know as well as I that Naruto needs as much support as possible right now. As much as I'd hate to admit it, Naruto relates to the two of you the most. He knows that you two are the only other people who felt the true meaning behind Sasuke's betrayal. If you two go off together, what will become of him? He'd have lost all of the most important and dearest people he has."

The jounin remained silent, accepting her harsh criticisms.

"Kakashi, I know this is hard, but the team needs to remain as that, a team, nothing more or less. You risk everything that Konoha has and needs. The Akatsuki are practically on our doorstep, waiting to take the nine tails from him. He's losing control of his inner demons, and he needs everyone to support him, or he'll lose himself."

"Tsunade-sama, you, of all people, know what it's like to love. You know what it's like to lose that love-"

She jolted out of her seat and balled her fists to maintain her composure, "Yes I have, and I know what it will feel like to lose yet another person I care deeply for because she foolishly did what her heart told her to do. If she remains in this relationship, she'll lose everything. You're an ANBU level nin. Any mission could be your last, and I refuse to watch her heart be crushed like mine was back then. I'd rather her lose you, now, than have to watch her weep over your grave or have to split your team apart because it 'didn't work out'"

_I must stop this relationship before it matures to the point that she can't focus on her skills and future. Please don't hate me, Sakura. It's for the best._

"Kakashi, I'm asking you, not as your superior, but as your friend, do what is best for Sakura." The air was awkward and Tsunade stood in a stance to protect herself from Kakashi's overwhelmingly tense mood. She knew what he was capable of.

She slid her hand inside her jacket's sleeve and pulled out a small folder with papers, "I actually came here to propose a mission to you."

He was pissed, but he understood what she meant. He was extremely perturbed at how quickly she changed the topic, but he knew she was trying to lighten the mood in the living room, "For what?"

Her face was serious and her eyes still locked onto his, "You recall the kidnapping attempt on Sakura, correct?"

"Hai." His mind replayed the entire night like a rewind button was pushed. He was still pissed, hiding all emotion, like the nin training he had when he was younger.

"Well we've received word from the group of assassins that Sai and Naruto's team have been taken hostage." She placed the paperwork down on the coffee table in front of her and slid them in Kakashi's direction; still afraid she might break his fragile sense of dignity.

He picked the papers up emotionless, and read over the information the assassins had revealed to the Hokage, "When did you receive this note?" It was poorly arranged and the grammar was completely wrong.

"Yesterday. Around eleven o'clock. We questioned the kidnapper that was sent here after Sakura. He claimed to have found you two when you were in the market, followed you home, and used the opportunity of darkness to make his move."

He mentally punished himself for being so careless about being followed, as well as exposing Sakura to the enemy in an open market.

"The leader has agreed to release Naruto, Sai and Ino if we send him a lump sum of money, and all surviving members of his organization, particularly, the mist nin we had imprisoned when you four came back from your previous mission, and…Sakura." Kakashi's eyes traced over the words on the letter. 'The pink haired bitch' _Why are they so intent on having Sakura in particular?_

"Obviously, we can't go sending her out when she's in this weakened state," she flashed her eyes at him, "no matter how much chakra she's been able to maintain. We were planning on sending out a select group of ANBU to attempt to retrieve the team and bring them back here."

"Tsunade, you've been avoiding an all out war between countries for about five years now, if anyone were to hear word that Konoha's strongest nins were gone for a mission against this organization, that leaves the village vulnerable."

"I know," she bit on her thumbnail and thought deeply, "I can't just abandon the fourth's son. Plus, I'd hate to say it, but all three of them are going to be key aspects to Konoha's strengths in the future. I swore I would protect Naruto until the day he became Hokage, and I intend to keep that promise." The small memory of Naruto loud mouthing off to Tsunade flashed in her mind. She bestowed the first's necklace to him for a reason.

"I'll go if you promise me one thing,"

"Kakashi I can't condone your relationship…"

"No, I understand that, but please make sure she is properly watched," He paused and set the papers down on the table, "Not just to protect her from them, but to protect them from her. You know your pupil, she'll rush in there if she found out about Naruto, Sai and Ino."

"She'd be so reckless that she'd endanger everyone there, especially in the condition she's in right now." Though she'd never admit it, she found that Sakura had become more like her than she would have wanted.

Kakashi nodded respectfully to his superior, "Who do you plan on going into the base?"

"I was considering sending you, Genma, Kurenai, Gai, and Neji. I'm sure I can get Ibiki to watch over Sakura."

"Just Ibiki? He doubted that, even as an ANBU, one nin wouldn't be able to securely watch over Sakura. If she found out about what was going on, things would turn out to be hell.

"I'll find a couple of other ANBU to watch her." She mentally noted this task and continued on with the description of the mission, "It may be best if I sent Shizune in place of someone. I fear Naruto, Sai, and Ino may be injured. They may need medical attention as soon as possible."

"Do you have any idea what the base looks like, or where it's located?"

"The organization leader sent a map for a meeting point. I assume it's not the actual headquarters, but it's within range to maintain surveillance from a distance." She pulled a small paper out of the folder and handed it to Kakashi, "Here's a copy of the map. I am going to keep the original, just in case."

The silver-haired jounin tilted his head downward in a slight nod, "When do you need us to be ready?"

"I'm going to give word to the other team members within the hour, you should be prepared by then." She stood up, walked towards the bedroom door, stopped short and looked back at the famous copy nin, "I am sorry, Kakashi. I promise I'll have the best looking after her."

"...Thank you, Tsunade-sama" He bowed, and watched her open the door to the bedroom.

Sakura was seated on the edge of the bed, Hinata standing awkwardly between the doorway and the bed. She was confused as to how to react. Sakura wanted to eavesdrop, however the Hyuuga had been conducting more "tests" to check up on Sakura's chakra levels and retention.

"So all in all Sakura, we'll start your rigorous strength training tomorrow, feel free to work on your ability to walk and run today." The hokage wanted to finish things up, quickly, so that she could avoid the repercussion of her conversation with Kakashi, "We'll see you tomorrow, Sakura."

She motioned toward Hinata and the both removed themselves from the apartment. Tsunade made a few last minute orders to the ANBU watching the apartment, commanding two to pack their things and prepare for a stealth retrieval mission.

Kakashi breathed deeply and began to pack his things, refusing to visit Sakura in her room. He hoped, practically, prayed that she would stay in her room until he left so that he could avoid the confrontation she would provide from their situation. He knelt down and bent over his pack of kunai and his extra clothes, sliding them quietly into the bag he had brought them in.

As much as he had prayed, Sakura walked into the room and bent over him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a loving way, "Sorry, Tsunade-sama is a bit overbearing, and I'm not sure I want her to know about us yet." She whispered warmly into his ear, tempting him to turn and embrace her, however he remained emotionless and finished packing.

Kakashi stood up slowly, letting Sakura loosen her arms from his shoulders. He turned and looked at with the cold face that he had earned through years of loneliness. With that, Sakura's face melted as she began to comprehend what had occurred between Tsunade and Kakashi.

"Kakashi…What…" He moved quickly towards the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. The tears were already flowing completely down her face and she could barely muster her voice to ask, "So, after everything, you finally get me and decide that I'm not worth it because of one person?" She was pulling at the strings on his heart. Sakura slowly painted the picture of her two teachers speaking about her love life.

Kakashi remained silent. _You're worth far more than what I could ever give you Sakura._ He rotated the doorknob.

"I told you I love you, and I meant it..." She was practically hysterical, her face completely covered in tears and almost the same shade of pink as her hair, "…I won't ever hate you, nor will you ever lose me, I promised you that."

He opened the door, solemnly and closed it behind him, leaving the broken blossom in standing in the middle of her apartment. He felt the tear slide down his face and absorb into his mask.

Sakura didn't chase after him, nor did she expect him to return; she just fell to the ground as her knees buckled under her and her emotional pain overwhelmed her body.

**Yes…turmoil, broken hearts, anger, rage, depression, etc etc. So this is where our story takes a slight twist, hopefully it will be better? It's all up to you readers! Thanks for all of the reviews, and yes, most of you do have a point in your reviews, thus my prudeness kicks in. I feel I should just not try lemons…perhaps it would be for the best lol. **

**Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for being so patient! I 3 you all!! **


	11. Canine Wisdom

**Chapter 11**

**All Characters belong to master Kishimoto-san!**

**Canine Wisdom**

Sakura's grief was quickly replaced with fury. She strapped the weights to her calves and ran to the training field to try and vent some of her frustration.

She had been doing rigorous squats, and running exercises to enhance her capability to move, acting like she was in battle and trying to dodge quickly and move to another position on the field. After a half hour of running she had somehow managed to train her punches, and when she was finished, there was not a single portion of the field that was still intact. Her punches and kicks had formed into a barrage of anger-induced attacks, attempting to find a level of peace that she could achieve.

To her dismay, Sakura's only relief to her rage was her grief, once more. She had returned home, showered and ate a small portion of food before she snuggled down and cried herself to sleep.

Kakashi sat around the campfire that the ANBU had made and stared up into the sky. _I'm sorry Sakura-chan. _The other ANBU had decided on a small camp to go over the plan and regain their strength before getting to the base the next morning. They were about ten miles from their destination and voted that Kakashi would watch guard.

Technically, Kakashi had offered to watch guard, since he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing that his precious blossom was suffering because of him. _I never should've fallen for her. She's in so much agony because of me._ He envisioned Sakura laying on her couch and crying her eyes out. His imagination had formed the upset Sakura into the two of them the night before, the lust, the emotions. He shook his head and focused his attention to the perimeter.

Within another ten minutes his mind had wandered again, and when he finally realized it, he came to the conclusion it would be best to summon his dogs to help him with guard duty.

Paccun looked at his companion with sympathy. He didn't know what was going on with Kakashi, but he had figured it had something to do with a woman, since he could see Kakashi's eye zone out about every 10 minutes, "So who is she?"

The silver-haired jounin snapped out of this nostalgic stupor and looked at the small pug, "You remember Sakura, right?" The small dog's face seemed almost like that of a human when he heard the blossom's name being mentioned.

"…But she was your pupil, Kakashi…"

"I know that, but… everything seemed to fit so well with her." He could remember every kiss they shared and placed his hand on his neck where her scar was, "The godaime said that I could die on any mission, and that I shouldn't put her through the pain of worrying over me dying."

"Kakasi, I can't say that the hokage is wrong, but I can say this. You need to ask yourself which you would find yourself wanting more: sitting out here on cold nights like this, or feeling her embrace when you get home."

Kakashi smiled for the first time since he left Sakura's apartment, "You know Paccun, for a dog, you sure know a lot about love."

The dog stood up in a bold and confident pose, "Well for a ANBU level nin and an old geezer like you, you sure don't know anything about love."

Kakashi chuckled a little and retorted to the dog's response, "Old geezer? You're far older than me."

"This is true, you are just a mere pup compared to me, but in human years, you are a bit seasoned compared to your sweet Sakura."

"I know…" Kakashi interlace his fingers similar to how Tsunade would when she thinks about a serious topic. He thought deeply about the relationship, or at least the relationship that was there the night before.

"Kakashi, age is nothing, do you remember all of the women that Jiraiya has had? Sure he was a perv, but he never had any problems with anyone else judging him about age."

"Well Tsunade did, but that was just cause she liked him."

"Just think about it, would you really let someone you care for get away because someone else doesn't want you to be with her?" They both sat silently for a moment until Paccun decided to speak up again, "I'm going to go check the perimeter, just call if you need me."

Kakashi nodded, still contemplating what he should do with his position in this predicament. _Tsunade is the Hokage. If you go against her, you might as well kiss everything goodbye, but…_ His mind flashed an image of Sakura's face when she smiled. He raised one of his hands and messed his hair up, trying to find some sort of a hint as to what to do.

Kakashi stared upwards towards the sky of stars. _I'm never going to get any sleep. _

**I am not DEAD! Though at time I do wish it with all of the insane school projects I've had…thank you all you being so patient and your awesome comments! I hope I could attain some level of the awe inspiring talent that my fav authors provide, and I hope that I can find more time to get my chapters done faster. Enjoy friends!**


	12. Spy's Scarred Eyes

**Chapter 12**

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, but the storyline belongs to me…**

**Spy's Scarred Eyes**

Sakura opened her eyes and remained laying in her bed. While still groggy, she stared at the practically neon display of the numbers on her alarm clock showing the time: 5:26 a.m. She had woken up about six other times already, crying every time she thought about Kakashi.

Sakura moaned angrily, rolling over onto her stomach. The blossom buried her face into her pillow and inhaled deeply through her nose. _Dammit. It still smells like him._ She didn't want to think it, but she wished his scent would never leave this place. She had created so many memories with him within the past week than she did over the seven years that they had known each other.

She sat up and reminisced about the first time she had seen Kakashi's face: his smile, his eyes, and those lips. Hot tears yet again streaked down her cheeks as she lay back down and attempted to sleep. _Kakashi…_

About a half hour later, Sakura was finally starting to doze off again when she heard her bedroom door open, gently. She remained motionless, praying that Kakashi had returned to apologize for being such a jerk.

She momentarily panicked and thought it might've been another kidnapper, but found relief when Hinata's voice broke the perfect silence in the room, "Uh-Uhm Sakura-san? Tsunade wants you to get ready for training." Sakura sighed and sat up straight. It was still pretty dark out, but there was enough natural light for Hinata to take note to the swollen appearance of the cherry blossom's eyes.

"Thank you Hinata. Why is Tsunade making you do all of her errands? Usually, Shizune does this type of thing." Hinata became slightly flustered when Sakura decided to mention Shizune, considering she was on the new mission with Kakashi, and Tsunade demanded that Sakura was not to find out about the task that they were off to do.

"W-well...Shizune-san isn't…feeling well today. So Tsunade wanted me to come over here and check your chakra levels before we went training today." Sakura momentarily examined the Hyuuga. Her perfectly trained women's intuition was telling her something else was happening, but she would never make Hinata tell her. She was far too insecure of a girl and Sakura didn't want her to have another fainting spell.

"Okay, I'll be ready in about ten minutes."

"Oh...please, wait," Hinata activated her Byakugan as she had so many times before and stared at the pink blossom's paths. They were completely full of chakra, however something was off; they swirled in a different manner than they had before. Hinata had seen her fair share of chakra types and had just assumed that Sakura's current emotional status had been the reasoning behind the oddities in her paths.

The blossom got up and pulled her work clothes out of her dresser, waving goodbye to the Hyuuga when she left the room. Sakura strapped the two weights onto her legs, and covered them with their usual crème legwarmers to hide them.

After she had finished dressing, Sakura stared at her reflection in the mirror. She fixed her hair, slightly, revealing the scar that was on her neck. Her hand traced over its shape: she was trying to see if her hand could ever mimic the feeling his lips would make on that spot. After a few moments, she found to her dismay that she would never have the chance to have that feeling again.

She fought back the tears and exited the room to find Hinata and a tall, male ANBU standing next to her. Sakura cocked her head and observed the man's posture, trying to place where she had seen him before.

"Wouldn't it be kind of obvious that I'm being targeted if I have an ANBU this close at all times?"

The man spoke up, his voice muffled under his mask, "They already know who you are and that you're their target, we no longer need to be secretive about your protection. We will have others watching from a distance for extra support should the need arise, however I will be with you at all times, as an ANBU."

The voice sounded so familiar to her, the dominance and the power that stood behind his reasoning was infallible.

They had set out towards the training field, Sakura's ANBU protector remaining completely silent, his hands buried in his pockets, and his posture completely straight. Hinata seemed even mousier as she walked next to Sakura, clearly afraid of the aura that the ANBU created.

They had arrived at the training grounds within another ten minutes, finding Tsunade standing next to the post that Kakashi had strapped Naruto to, the first day that they had been out there. She was sitting patiently on the top of the post, her legs crossed, as well as her arms in an impatient pose.

"Well, you certainly took your time didn't you?" She hopped off of the top of the post and rested all of weight on her right leg, arms still crossed to ensure she look dissatisfied with her pupil, "You were supposed to be here about 5 minutes ago."

The three nin had walked up to the godaime and all bowed in a respective manner, Sakura fighting against her inner rage at the woman. _She's your master, whether you hate her or not._

"We'll start off with some running and then move on to a couple of sparring rounds." She looked at Sakura's face, finding her pupil avoiding her eyes. Hinata stepped forward and handed the Hokage her small notebook, "Thank you, Hinata. You helped me so much, feel free to go home or do as you please."

She bowed silently and turned to leave. Tsunade addressed the ANBU standing next to Sakura, maintain a distance of thirty feet, should you find something odd please send me the signal."

The man lifted his hand to his chest and replaced his hand back into his pocket quickly, "Hai."

The run was fine, Sakura kept up with Tsunade the whole time, even passing her about three times, only to find Tsunade rush back up to be in front of her pupil. They had moved on to sparring, Sakura trying to release her inner rage on her Master.

Tsunade could see it, and understood the pain that Sakura was going through. She actually had to take the fight seriously or else Sakura would take her out. For some odd reason, and Tsunade couldn't place it, but Sakura was much faster than what she used to be. Her hits were coming much faster, yet still had the deadly impact that Tsunade had taught her before.

With each strike the ground would break apart, proving to the Godaime that Sakura wasn't playing this time. An hour had slowly passed for the women, one trying to relieve the anger and aggression in heart, the other dodging to spare her body pain and the feeling the true hurt that her pupil was feeling.

Sakura had manage to land a blow or two in some non crucial portions of Tsunade's body, but the Hokage had managed to knock Sakura to the ground, creating a slight crater where the blossom had landed.

She was out of breath and could feel that her body was feeling the effect of her using all of that chakra.

"That's enough for today. Sakura, we'll continue tomorrow afternoon. I have a meeting in the morning." Tsunade brushed a small lock of hair out of her eye. Sakura still refused to look her in the eye and looked off toward the ANBU that had been protecting her. Her mind raced again, trying to place where she had heard his voice before.

They returned to her apartment, silently of course. Sakura decided to take a shower and found that, after she had changed, her ANBU protector decided to make her lunch. It was simple, rice and pickle plums, not exactly the most extravagant meal, but enough to make sure she kept her strength up.

She barely ate her food, but did eat some of the rice to appease her protector. He placed his bowl down on the table and leaned forward on his elbows, looking even bulkier around his shoulders, if possible, "So if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your last guard?"

That voice struck another familiar note, but she still couldn't find the face or name to match it, "He…had something else to do," she looked aside and felt the burn of moisture in her eyes.

"Even an entry level interrogator would be able to see through that lie." He sat back and placed his hands back in his pockets, "From what I can tell, you're emotionally distressed, somehow it correlates to the Hokage, considering you seriously wanted to do her harm today, and you are barely eating." He paused trying to read her movements, "You fell for him, and hard."

She felt the urge to punch him for hitting on target so easily. Sakura remained silent still trying to push back the tears.

"I'm assuming the Hokage somehow got in between you two, saying something like, 'it's a distraction for both of you.'" He maintained his posture and smiled silently under his mask, "Probably because you two are close to not only her, but are also the best at what you do. The last things she wants is losing two of her best level nins to something she may view as a passing fancy."

_How could he know all of this?_ "I'm assuming you're an expert at what you do, right?"

"I am considered the best, however, I'm sure there are many others out there who are better."

Sakura' mind began to fit the pieces together, "So, why would 'the best' be watching a low level medic nin like me from some random bandits, huh?"

"It was the job I was given and it's not the fact that you, nor they are low level, but the fact that they're after the Hokage's pupil." He sat forward and looked through the eye-holes of his mask as Sakura's face, "She cares a lot more about you than you think. You're like a daughter to her."

Suddenly everything fit, "Yes, considering I have followed the exact steps that she wanted me to…right, Ibiki?" She made eye contact with him through the mask and traced the scar over his right eye.

He chuckled, his low voice slightly scaring the blossom, "You are far more deductive than I had anticipated. Tsunade was not lying when she said you were smart." He lifted the mask to the top of his head, revealing his scarred faced, "But then again, most medic nins have to be pretty accurate and intelligent to know what to do in a high risk situation."

"So why are you _really_ watching me Ibiki? I highly doubt that Tsunade needs the master interrogation specialist watching over a chuunin level medic nin."

"Sakura, you know that I can't tell you the specifics of my mission. You'll just have to try and think of it on your own and come to a conclusion on which feeling you think is right." She sighed deeply and stared at her food.

"You're here to prevent me from leaving to see Kakashi." She stood up and took a few steps towards her room, "I'm going to take a nap, and you don't need to worry about me leaving, I won't."

He smiled almost maliciously, "I know I don't need to worry, there are many ANBU watching every opening to this apartment. You wouldn't be able to get five feet out of here without one of us coming after you."

She grinned slightly and walked back into her room. She buried her head into her pillow again and inhaled Kakashi's sweet musky scent. It invoked her depressed thoughts. She had fallen asleep for about three hours, and lay in her bed for another half until she began to concoct her plan.

Within twenty minutes she had the reconnaissance portion of her personal mission laid out and she chose to execute her plan the next morning. She arose from her bed, fixed her hair slightly in the mirror and continued on towards the living room.

Ibiki was sitting on the couch, watching the TV with the volume almost completely down. The cherry blossom tried to sneak into the room to test her stealth capabilities, finding her chaperone to smile and turn towards her after her third step in the hall, "Nice of you to join me."

She dropped her head in disappointment and walked, normally towards him on the couch, "I guess that proves how skilled you are."

He smirked and gave her a short glance, " A chuunin, capable of sneaking past an ANBU? Unheard of." She leaned against the wall and watched the pictures flash against the television's screen.

"I was wondering if we could visit Tsunade-sama before my training, tomorrow," She remained calm, and calculated the numerous possibilities of his responses.

"For what?" clearly this statement raised his suspicion, not only because he sat up straighter but he also looked at her in the eyes, ensuring he could read anything she did as she spoke.

"I wanted to speak to her about my medic training. It's been so long since I've used any medical jutsus, and I want to see if I can still control them like before." She put every ounce of thought into her reply and maintaining the façade she gave him. _This is about as difficult as it gets: fool him, and you can fool the world._

He smirked, waiting a few moments before he finally spoke, "Sure, I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't mind, but I will bring the other ANBU to ensure you don't try to pull anything funny." Ibiki turned back towards the television and crossed his arms in front of him.

She felt her body relax. Sakura didn't even realize she was tense, but judging from the current situation, she understood why she was. She slid off the end of the couch and took note to the clock hanging on her kitchen wall, "Have you eaten anything for dinner?"

Ibiki remained motionless and responded with a practically monotone response, "Nope. I would've felt like I was intruding if I started scavenging for food. Besides," He looked at her in a playful manner and shifted his arms, putting his hands behind his head, "I am a guest in _your_ house, and I made lunch."

She mentally sighed and walked towards the kitchen. _What ever happened to chivalry?_

Dinner was finished quickly, Ibiki lying comfortably on the couch as Sakura took a shower and went to bed. She continued to map out certain steps to her plan since the nap from earlier left her already well rested. She couldn't sleep with all of the thoughts running though her head. _This has to be done as professionally as possible. You have to get past how many ANBU as well the Hokage herself?! I suppose I do have an upper hand because I know Tsunade-sama's patterns, but with Ibiki watching me like a guard-dog, my abilities will be tested to their fullest._

She smirked and rolled over. _I guess I'll just have to really see how skilled of a nin I really am._

**Woot! 2 chapters in one day….okay well the one is a bit short, but it would've been awkward to put it up all as one. So, I hope you all enjoy, things are getting tense around school right now, thank you for being s extremely patient and I hope you all will review these chapters as beautifully and kindly as you have before. MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL! **

**Thank you thank you thank you!! For all of the inspiring comments you all have given me!**


	13. Unexpected Ally

All characters belong to Master Masashi Kishimoto

**All characters belong to Master Masashi Kishimoto. Arigatou Shishou!**

**Chapter 13**

**Unexpected Ally**

The night had passed slowly, Sakura waking intermittently in the night. By six o'clock she was up and fully dressed, still retracing over every step of her plan.

Ibiki was already sitting upright on the couch when the blossom entered the room. He had awoken a few moments after he heard her slide out of her bed. _Damn! I may be good at surveillance and such, but it's a killer that I'm such a light sleeper. You never get any rest on a mission._

"Good morning Ibiki-san." She hardened her shaking voice. _God! Why am I so nervous? _

"Good morning, Sakura." He stood up and pat her head in a protective manner, "We'll get something to eat and then head over okay?" She nodded silently, making her way to the kitchen, preparing the supplies for some rice omelets.

Breakfast went quickly. Sakura could feel her nerves getting to her. Occasionally she would give herself a confidence boost for her plan, however most of it would wear off within seconds.

They arrived at the Hokage's tower within ten minutes after they ate and entered with two other ANBU walking by her side. _I guess Ibiki knows something is up._ The woman at the front desk waved hello to Sakura; she was always so cheerful whenever she was working under Tsunade-sama.

"Good morning Sakura. I assume you're here to see Lady Tsunade?" Sakura nodded silently and smiled at the woman, "Well she has a meeting in about ten minutes, but I'm sure she won't mind seeing you shortly."

"Thank you, Taki." Sakura prepared to walk forward, stopping short when she noticed Ibiki giving an order to the two ANBU that walked in with them. She understood what each hand signal meant: she was trained to. From what she could see, he was stationing the two at the front door.

_That's odd. Even if he knew I was going to do something, why would he put those two at the front? There are so many other ways out of this building._

Ibiki turned toward the blossom and motioned for them to continue to their destination. The four flights of stairs seemed far more difficult to handle when Sakura could feel Morino's aura near her. She felt like she'd be safer with the bandits than with her "protector."

They arrived at Tsunade's office shortly, Sakura's hand stopping slightly on the handle of the door. She breathed deeply and entered the room as naturally as she could.

Tsunade looked up from the paperwork sitting on her desk and cocked an eyebrow, "Sakura? What's wrong?" she held her pen above the paper and started playing with it in her fingers.

"Oh, uhm, Well Tsunade-sama, I was wondering if we could possibly go over some of my medical jutsus. I mean, those are the most difficult ones, and I felt that I should probably work on those to fine tune my chakra control again."

The blonde woman paused momentarily and placed her pen down on the table, "Sure. I have a meeting in about five minutes, do you think you could wait until after that?" She straightened the papers on her desk and stood up.

The blossom nodded respectfully and bowed to her master when she got up from her desk and left the room. Sakura's plan was going as she had anticipated, but the main roadblock was still standing with her in the room.

"Would you like to sit down?" Ibiki motioned his hand towards the chair sitting by Tsunade's desk.

"Sure?" She sat down and skimmed over what was on the desk quickly.

He walked up to the window behind the hokage's brown wooden desk and stared out towards the other ANBU. _One, two,…three. _Morino turned around, lifted his mask, and smirked at the blossom, "So what is the _real_ reason you wanted to come here, Sakura?"

She remained motionless and stared at him innocently, "To ask Tsunade for my medical jutsu train-"

"Don't lie to me. I can see through everything you've done, so far."

She relaxed and sighed, "I-I know something is up. Shizune isn't even here, and she's _always_ here, even when she's sick."

He remained stern and stared at her, "And you think Shizune has something to do with…"

"Kakashi? No, but I know Tsunade did." She felt the burning coming back to the edges of her eyes.

"So what is this all for?"

"I wanted to ask her why, but I had also planned on finding the mission statement that she showed Kakashi."

He crossed his arms to show his discomfort with how analytical she was. "How do you know he's on a mission? He could be sitting in his apartment right now, eating ramen or something."

She cracked a smile at the mention of ramen and spoke up, "Naruto, Sai and Ino have been gone for almost a week and half, now. " She fidgeted with her fingers and spoke up, "They said they were just doing a simple mission. If those assassins came after me, then I know they were going to go after Naruto and Sai." _They should be back by now._

"That still doesn't explain to me how Kakashi is on a mission."

"Please…Tsunade coming to my apartment to check in on me? She would've sent Shizune if that was all it was. You can see here how busy she is. She doesn't have the time unless it was for something else urgent" She stood up and stared him square in the eye, "I know that Naruto, Sai and Ino are captured." She lost her composure and sat back down in a defeated appearance, " Kakashi left to go get them, right?"

Ibiki began to clap his hands while grinning ever so slightly, "I _am_ impressed. You deduced far more than I would've expected." He looked down at her and smiled, "So we get to play a game now."

"Huh?" She looked uncomfortable and withdrew into a very defensive position.

"I'll give you information if you give me some…" He held up a small roll of parchments and placed them on the table, "You get that if you tell me why you want to do this so badly."

"What?" She was taken aback from his statement.

"This is about as easy as it gets, Sakura. All you have to do is tell me why. I've arranged the ANBU around the building in a…well let's just say convenient manner for you to escape."

"I…I have to talk to him. I have to save them…I need those who I love. I want to protect them. This whole thing is my mess!" She felt the tears pouring out of her eyes.

"And?" He crossed his arms expecting more from her, "Just say it." She paused momentarily as her inner defenses crumbled.

"I…I love him," she completely broke down and rubbed her eyes, "Even though he's hurt me so much, I can't stop it! I just need to see him, tell him one last time!"

He smiled and bowed his head respectfully. "Take it… You need to tell him right?"

She blinked a few times and nodded, "Why?"

He stood up and winked at her slightly, "I once knew how it felt to be close to someone; to lose them because I could've died on any mission. It was my personal choice…I still think of her from day to day, but-" he stared out the window with a solemn expression, "Well, fate will do with us as it pleases."

She stared at him, sympathizing with every word he said, "I'm sorry Morino-san."

"Don't be, go find your love." She remained standing in place, tracing over his story, "Well get going! Who knows how long you'll have."

She flinched and grabbed the scrolls on desk, "When did you get these?"

"That's a secret, and if you plan on going out there, I recommend you go without your weapon pouch, they'll know what you're up to if they see it."

"Then how am I supposed to get a weapon inside?"

He glanced at her with a plan on his mind, "Did I ever mention how lovely that kimono and sword look in your living room? They match perfectly. If you show up in a kimono they won't expect you to be carrying a weapon. It'll show that you're arriving there as they had requested."

"Requested?" He pointed to the scrolls in her hands and stepped aside from the window.

"You'll understand when you read that, now go!"

She quickly jumped out of the window as he directed. Quickly a nin in an ANBU uniform had jumped and grabbed the rolls of parchment from Sakura's hand.

Ibiki's eyes had widened. _I didn't think any of them would go against my orders of their placement._ He jumped up onto the sill, prepared to attack the ANBU when he noticed Sakura vanish into a cloud of smoke.

The ANBU lifted her mask to reveal the cherry blossom's emerald green eyes and her confidant exterior. With that, Ibiki's cheesy grin was plastered over his face, "Well, well. It seems like Sakura has gained some new abilities."

The roseate-haired kunoichi dashed across the rooftops until she reached her apartment. Not a single ANBU was stationed nearby. _Wow he really did arrange things to be easy for me._ _Thanks Ibiki!_ She sat down on her couch and unraveled the three papers that were wrapped around a small scroll. One was the actual letter that the bandit's had sent.

Her vein popped out slightly when she read the statement they mentioned about her. "What assholes" she whispered as she continued on to the rest of the parchment pieces. One was a list of the nin that were sent on the mission to the assassin camp: Shizune, Genma, Kakashi, Kurenai, and a couple other high level nins were sent off on this mission.

_Geez so many highly skilled nins._ She opened up the second and noted the actual mapped layout of the building that was labeled the base. The third sheet she took note to was a side note that Tsunade apparently had made when she had come back after the trip to her apartment those few days prior.

Judging from the frayed edging of the paper, it was clearly from the notebook that Hinata had been keeping track of Sakura's chakra levels with. It was torn out in a hasty manner and it had two different handwritings on it. Hinata's handwriting was practically perfect, not a single flaw with her notations. They were mostly comments on how Sakura's chakra patterns looked.

Tsunade's script was extremely difficult to decipher, but Sakura had gotten used to her odd handwriting from her days of training. One statement was circled in red and traced down to a side note at the bottom of the page: "Maintain check-ups."

Sakura looked up towards the circled statement in Hinata's handwriting: "Change in pattern to resemble the host donor's chakra patterns."

The blossom lifted her hand to her chest. She was trying to feel the chakra she had flowing in her body. '_Similar to host donor's chakra?' My chakra has…converged with Kakashi's? Impossible…nothing like that has ever occurred!_

She felt her heart begin to pound with the thought of her and Kakashi merged together as one. The roseate haired kunoichi shook her head to snap out of her stupor. She unrolled the scroll and examined the reports on any findings of the current assassin mission. She skimmed over it twice and snatched the kimono and katana from her walls.

With in five minutes she was fully robed, training weights and leg warmers included, and she tucked the map into her obi. She grabbed the notebook page, folded it neatly, and slid it under the flap of her kimono near her breasts: the safest place she had. She had the katana hidden on the side of her leg, praying that it didn't obtrude too far for others to see it.

Sakura double-checked the area outside of her window, ensuring that there weren't any ANBU hiding outside and leaping out of her apartment to run from rooftop to rooftop toward the gate to Konoha.

She had run as far as she could in about six hours, breaking shortly every now and then to try and conserve her chakra. She knew she would need her chakra for the retrieval of her friends, not only to fight, but to heal them as well.

She sat on a large boulder for another short rest and stared at the map of the hideout. Sakura's talents were always from the logistical side. Her capabilities for plans and memorization were above almost all of her former classmates, with the exception of Shikamaru.

She placed her hand on her chest again, repeating those words in her mind, "Similar to host donor's chakra." She repeated it multiple times, saying it in a different tone each time to find different meanings in the statement.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling in the leaves behind her. She remained completely still, reiterating to herself that she was supposed to be unarmed for the trade to go successfully. Two men had appeared before as a third came out from behind, holding a kunai to the back of her neck.

"Well, would you look here? A mouse looking for some cheese?" She remained as emotionless as possible with every word and action as they spoke. The one man was lanky but he was obviously the ringleader of this small team of bandits.

The slightly bulkier nin stepped forward and examined the cherry blossom closely, "Say Koji, didn't the boss say that there should be a pink-haired bitch coming?"

The lanky man cracked a wide grin when he came to the realization of who Sakura was, "That's right, but she doesn't come off as such a cranky little whore like the boss said."

She struggled to maintain her composure, yet somehow managed to spit out a few words without an attitude, "I was sent here from Konoha to form proper negotiations between your leader and the hokage."

"I think we should take her to the boss," the bandit named Koji stated, "Unharmed," as he raised his eyebrows to the kunai-wielding nin behind the blossom, "I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind seeing her in this lovely kimono, she should remain…unspoiled."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly when he added 'unspoiled.' _Patience is key. This is for those whom I love._ She clenched her teeth together and smiled at them, obeying each of their commands, and suppressing her inner rage.

**Hello friends and fellow Kakasaku addicts. Sorry for the delay, I had a week off of School and well…my Internet shut down at home. So you all had to wait so patiently until I got back to school, but here it is.**

**I got a lot of typing done on this fic over my break, and I hope you all enjoy. Please, feel free to alarm me about anything that may be on your mind (though I do hope you'll be nice about it ) I love you all and I appreciate your support! Positive comments give me so much enthusiasm for writing! XD I hope you all enjoyed.**


	14. Hidden Talent

All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, ideas and storyline, are mine

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, ideas and storyline, are mine.**

**Chapter 14**

**Hidden Talent**

Tsunade sighed as she opened the door to her office, "I swear these stupid meetings are getting more and more redundant." She flinched when she noticed Morino standing by the window behind her desk. She had forgotten that she was supposed to help test Sakura's healing capabilities today.

The Hokage walked closer to her desk and scanned the room, "Where's Sakura?"

Ibiki remained motionless as he stated the obvious, "She's not here." He walked back around the desk and sat down in the chair that Sakura was occupying about thirty minutes ago.

Tsunade felt the small vain pop out of her forehead, "I noticed that she's not here. Where is she?" The godaime placed herself in her chair behind the desk and stared at the ANBU mask that Ibiki wore upon is face. She didn't need to see it, but she could hear it in his voice as he spoke, he was being coy and not just for fun.

"She left." As he sat motionless in the chair, he observed the Hokage sitting before him, smirking when he realized how much her mannerisms had rubbed off on to her pupil.

"To go to the bathroom, right?" Her patience was wearing thin, she had already wasted a good hour in that pointless meeting, and now she had no idea where her star pupil was.

"No, she left to find her team." With that he sat in a defensive position, prepared to bolt away should the need arise.

"WHAT?!" She stood up and slammed her fists into the desk before her, collapsing it under her ungodly strength and forming two huge holes into the top surface of the oak furniture, "Ibiki I sent you on this mission because I knew you were the best of the best! How could she get away?"

"I let her." With that the Hokage was completely livid; her face matched the hatred that she was feeling.

"WHY?! You know the danger that she's in right now!" Her hands were balled into two fists, squeezing the blood out of every finger.

"You know what they mean to her." He lifted his mask off and looked Tsunade straight in eyes, "You know what Kakashi means to her."

With the mention of Kakashi, Tsunade pushed off of the ground and aimed straight for Ibiki's face with her fist. He caught her wrist and dodged to the side, grasping her other hand to ensure she didn't swing again. _She's a lot easier to fight when she's pissed, "_Tsunade-sama, You know how it feels. Dan….and now Jiraiya. You've lost so many people yet you seem to think that the only way to become strong is to fight for those you've lost."

She didn't realize it, but Tsunade's foul mood was replaced with a solemn one, and tears began to stream down her face, "What..do..you kn-know?"

"I know that Kakashi went through what you went through," Tsunade jolted her face upwards and stared into Ibiki's eyes, "He lost every single person that he cared most about, and now that he's been able to move on and find others that he care's for-"

"I have people I care about!" She snatched her hand away from his grasp and turned away from him.

"Who? Sakura…?" she remained silent and bit her thumbnail in an uncomfortable way, "You're jealous of Kakashi? That he might take away the last person you have made a real connection with. That, and you not only don't want Sakura to leave you, but you don't want her to suffer through what you went through."

"It's true I don't want her to go through what I went through, but she's not the only person I've made a real connection with."

"Yes, Shizune, but you've never been as close to her as you have been to Sakura. You relate to her far more than Shizune." Tsunade returned to the chair that was behind the remnants of her desk and crossed her legs to create a more dignified pose. "You know, Tsunade-sama, you can't protect Sakura for the rest of her life. She's already lost some who are dear to her, and in a far more sour way than you."

They both sat in the room without the utterance of a word for at least 15 more minutes, Tsunade continuing to bite her thumbnail in indecision. She finally shifted in her chair and looked at Ibiki, "Send out the ANBU to go help Sakura." She stood up and smiled weakly at the intelligence specialist, "I expect you to bring a joyful blossom back to me."

"I will, but there is one thing I would like to talk to you about." He shifted his weight and crossed his arms in front of him. Tsunade shot him a confused look. "You know what my specialties are correct?"

She nodded, "Interrogation, information gathering, and chakra pattern recognition. Though, many would argue that you're just an information retrieval nin."

"Indeed, perhaps after this I may just be." He began to scratch at his chin, he forgot to shave the night before and he could feel his skin begin to itch with stubble, "I escorted Sakura here, all the way from her apartment, with five ANBU at my side."

"Yes?" Tsunade's patience was wearing thin again. _Just get to the point Ibiki! _She hated how he would play these roundabout puzzles and games with her.

"Throughout that entire time, not a single chakra pattern concerned me, however," he straightened up again and looked her square in the eyes, "When I released Sakura, she jumped out of the window behind you, and met up with an ANBU. She apparently used a clone of herself to walk with me, but her real self was one of the ANBU that was escorting her with me."

"Ibiki you didn't see through that? You're one of our top specialists in our village." She was irritated. _Great my greatest interrogation leader is getting soft on me._

"I know, however, they had two completely different chakra signatures. The clone clearly had Sakura's, but when I saw the real Sakura, she actually had a different pattern."

Tsunade had finally realized what he was getting at, "That's impossible." She knew what this meant, and the chances were literally one in a million, "there was only one nin in the history of our village that was capable of that."

"I know, but this can't just be a coincidence," he scratched his head and smirked, "she does have perfect chakra control, perhaps the introduction of his chakra is where this came from."

"I suppose," she stared at him uneasily, "Kakashi never took that path because of how it all ended. I'm sure he can do it if he wanted, he just never made it known to others."

"Somehow Sakura has gained this ability."

"It's probably a temporary transfer of powers. This has never occurred before. I mean," she bit her nail again, "Every time we had reintroduced chakra into someone's system, they never gained the abilities of the nin that provided the chakra."

"You've never used a non medic nin before, and you've never had a patient that has had the learning capabilities or the control of chakra that Sakura has."

Tsunade straightened up in her chair and smiled, "I bet the White fang would be shocked to find his abilities being used by a young medic nin."

"I'll go get some nin prepared to get Sakura." He turned and looked back when he reached the door, "I will keep an eye on what happens with her."

"Thank you, Ibiki." Tsunade seemed to relax with the last statement that Ibiki had provided to her. It was a bit more than what she could handle. She interlaced her fingers as another worried expression came across her face._ All of my top nins are gone. If another country find out about this, thing will definitely get messy._

He saluted and left the room with haste. Ibiki had gathered all of the ANBU that were in charge of watching over Sakura and gave them their new mission objectives. _What an exciting day._ Ibiki finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his tense muscles. _Tsunade could've killed me back there._

**Short chapter, long one shall soon ensue! Give me like…2 minutes heh! Sorry for the delay folks! I hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much for your comments, they keep me going in these busy times of school and work…sigh**

**3333333LOVE! 3333333**


	15. Head Dog

All characters are Masashi Kishimoto-san's

**All characters are Masashi Kishimoto-san's!**

**Chapter 15**

**Head dog**

Sakura was growing tired of walking with the annoying morons that she was being escorted by. The lanky one wouldn't stop talking and the fat one seemed to be so similar to Chouji with his eating habits. The silent kunai wielding nin seemed to understand the severity of the situation, since he still had his blade expose and held in an offensive manner.

The lanky leader named Koji turned towards the cherry blossom and smirked, "We're almost there sweetheart, be on your best behavior or the boss will kill you're friends," he snickered slightly and added one last bit of information, "If they're still alive."

With that Sakura could feel her imagination running away with her, seeing numerous different versions of what her beloved friends were going through. She blanked out for about ten more minutes and snapped out of her daydreams when Koji spoke up again, "Here we are!" he spread his arms outward and stepped aside to allow Sakura to see the huge wall that spanned for a good five-hundred feet on each side of her.

Koji stepped up to the huge gate and knocked three times then pounded twice with his foot and then knocked another five times. _Secret knocking patterns? Who do they think they are, the Yakuza?_ The gate opened slowly and the encampment inside seemed to be far larger than what Sakura had expected.

"We're going to go see the boss," the fat ninja managed to say between bites of his potato chips. The two guards stared Sakura over and then moved aside to let them pass. _So far so good._

They took about another twenty minutes to walk all the way to the main hall that the leader resided in. Every set of eyes followed Sakura as she walked with the rest of her escorts.

They arrived at a set of ornately decorated screen doors and met, yet another guard. He scoped over Sakura and turned to Koji, "Did you search her for weapons?"

"Not yet." He scratched the back of his head from embarrassment. The guard stepped towards the blossom and placed his hands on her waist, exploring different planes and searching for any weapons. He lifted the part in her kimono and looked briefly inside, not pausing to inspect her leg warmers. I was apparent to Sakura that the katana's sheath did its job perfectly and made it blend with her kimono.

"She's clear," he stood back up and looked her over again, avoiding any eye contact because he knew what the boss wanted her for. Koji motioned for Sakura to enter through the doorway before him, and followed her when they entered the main hall.

"Greetings Koji! I see you have found my prize." The leader was robust, clean-shaven and had his hair was tied back with a green bandana. Sakura made a mental "ew" face when she saw him and maintained her calm, polite façade.

"Thanks boss!" Koji smiled enthusiastically and saluted to leave. The man sitting in the main chair stood up and walked down the velvet-carpeted stairs towards the blossom.

"So, where is my brother? That team we found this morning didn't have you or my brother, and now I find you walking right into my territory." He walked around Sakura, looking over every portion of her body, staring at her face when he came back around.

"Where are my friends?" She fought her inner rage and stared at the same spot on the wall behind the nasty excuse of a man in front of her.

He chuckled, placed his hand on her shoulder and bent over to whisper in her ear, "I'll show you where they are if you give me what I want." With that she balled her hand into a fist and landed an original Tsunade, bone-crushing punch into his gut.

"No, you're going to show me where they are, and then I won't give you what you want." The man was doubled over with spit coming out of his mouth and a look of agonizing pain upon his face. His face shifted quickly to a smile as he grabbed Sakura's ankle and pulled her down to the floor.

"I do so love girls who play hard to get." He began to undo the obi that was tied around the blossom's waist. She slid her hand under the edge of her Kimono and grabbed the Katana that was strapped to her leg. The blade barely missed the Thug leader's face, creating a small cut on his cheek.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't 'play' hard to get. I am hard to get." She sat on her heels and held the blade at eye level. It took Sakura a few seconds to realize that her kimono was constraining her capabilities to sit in a comfortable fighting stance, so she hitched it up about two feet and retook her position.

The large brute didn't writhe for more than a minute. He quickly stood up and took his fighting stance, smirking at the young cherry blossom that stood before him, "I'm going to have to take out some of my guards if they can't even see a sword when ensuring you're not armed."

She smirked empathetically and stared him down, "It's so hard to find good help these days."

"Tell me about it," he placed his hand under his chin and turned his head until a few pops were heard. He repeated this in the other direction and formed his hands into a position for some hand seals, "ready to play?"

A small wave of fear had overcome the young blossom, yet she maintained her sturdy outward appearance, and steeled herself on the love for her friends and former sensei.

The man bit his thumb and his hands moved so fast that Sakura had trouble keeping up with the symbols. He finished and slammed his hand onto the ground and a small black seal appeared onto the floor where his blood touched.

Four large wolves had appeared from the seal on the floor and instantly charged at Sakura. They were bigger than the young blossom, giving her a slight advantage when it came to dodging.

She smirked slightly when she found herself putting some distance between her and the summoned canines. Sakura turned around and skewered a dog with her blade. The wolf vanished into thin air.

The other three formed a different pattern when charging her, similar to the V pattern that geese would fly in when going south for winter. She stood her ground this time, watching the dogs move about the room with remarkable speed. Two continued moving bout the room while the third charged at her from behind.

She sidestepped the dog and slid her blade through the space between its shoulder blades, and straight through his heart. It was similar to how a matador would battle with a bull, however Sakura was practically flawless with her execution and she didn't need to distract the animals with a stupid cape.

Again, with the loss of one of their companions the two remaining dogs had formed a new pattern. They charged straight at her, weaving in and out like they were avoiding kunai being thrown at them.

Sakura practically took a double take when she saw an image of Kiba and Akamaru charging at her. She had seen this style before. She had become accustomed to seeing the boy and his companion in the training fields often. This was usually what he and Akamaru would do before they would perform an extremely difficult jutsu.

Suddenly, one dog vanished while the other continued toward her. She immediately transported herself in a small cloud of smoke and found the other dog to be right behind her. She stepped away, barely being mauled by the giant wolf.

She sliced at the canine's head, only to find him bite the blade and throw it across the room. With that she punched the large dog on the back of his neck and he instantly disappeared with a small 'poof' leaving one dog to remain.

The brute of a leader chuckled when he saw this, "I guess you have noticed that my wolves become more and more difficult to fight when their numbers are reduced."

Sakura still smiled when she thought it through, "one of my fellow nins uses this type of jutsu, none of this is new to me."

She stood up valiantly. Her hair was tousled all about her face. She quickly darted to her blade and retrieved it before the dog before her could cut her off.

The dog began to spin rapidly and formed a small tornado-esque cyclone around him. With his dogs fighting, the large man still just stood there, doing nothing in this fight.

The cyclone made its way closer and closer to the blossom, threatening to pick her up and throw her around like a rag doll. She dashed around the room, trying to remember what she learned from Kiba that day she saw him in the field.

_The weakest spot of this jutsu is that there's barely any control. Akamaru and I have been working our hardest to try and get a more accurate reading on it, but even so, we've only been able to maintain about a thirty percent target hit rate. Every time we use this jutsu everything in the surrounding area is destroyed, and we can't ensure that fellow nin around us are safe when we do it._

Sakura smirked and dashed around the room toward the large, husky man. As she had expected the wolf twister followed her toward the man.

"Hey, wait….NO!" It was too late, the large man was too cumbersome to dodge the incoming winds that threatened him. He was sent flying back into his wonderful 'throne,' flipping it over with his feet above his head.

Sakura noticed the wolf stop his jutsu and finished him off with her blade to his heart when he freaked out over his owner. The two nin were left alone once again. The room was a complete mess. Sakura turned to check the doors to see if any of the nin out in the hall had burst in to help their beloved leader.

To her relief, none of the thugs had entered yet, but she knew that she would be running out of time, and fast. Sakura steadied herself when the large man had gotten up and thrown his glorious chair at her. She dodged, naturally and turned back to see the thug boss brandishing an oversized Kunai type blade.

"So what is my prize when I win this little game, Kunoichi?" He stood tall and held the hefty blade on his right shoulder, behind his head.

"You will not get a prize, because you are going to lose, and when that happens, you are going to show me where my companions are." She was pissed, even more so than when Kakashi just walked out without saying anything.

"Watanabe Ken." He smiled and stared her down. There was an awkward silence shortly after he said this. Sakura's eyes tightened on his malicious smile and analyzed his reactions, "I thought you should know the name of the one who's going to kill you."

She smiled sideways and looked at his hand tighten on his blade, "I've heard plenty of men tell me their names because they said they were going to kill me, yet here I stand."

His smile melted to a frown and he darted towards the blossom standing on the other side of the room. She quickly dodged his oversized blade and found that she didn't quite move as quickly as she had assumed.

He got her, not too bad, but she had a lovely gash on her left thigh that would definitely need stitches later. _But not right now._ She used her katana and sliced off the bottom portion of her kimono, revealing her crème legwarmers. She had her knees exposed now, yet the bright red coloration of her blood seemed to be overwhelming her skin tone.

"Mmmm I do like your legs. They're so long." His blade dripped a large drop of blood onto the floor before him.

He dashed around to her other side again and thrust his kunai sword forward in a poking motion. She sidestepped, again getting a pretty deep gash on her right arm. _He's much faster than how he was acting before._ She had no choice. Sakura cut off her legwarmers and her training weights.

"Oh, getting serious now are we? Are you sure these friends of yours are worth it? I mean, we could've killed the ones that are your friends." His face twisted into another insane smile.

"If you were going to make the deal for your brother, you wouldn't have killed any of our nins. The agreement would've been off."

"Well from what I can tell, my brother isn't here, so the deal is already off. Besides, I have a few men who are having fun with those 'guests' right now."

With that Sakura vanished and reappeared behind the man. She avoided using her blade, since she needed the man alive, "Tell me where they are, NOW!" she released her fury of punches on him. She counted each fracture and break that she inflicted on the man.

His body lay uncomfortably on the ground on the opposite side of the room. He hit the wall with such speed that a small crater had formed in it.

Sakura was furious, but she knew if they didn't get moving, she'd have an entire organization of assassins on her in no time. She ran over to the man to find him still conscious, with blood dripping from his mouth. He coughed up even more blood and looked at her pitifully.

"Where are they?" she stared him down and held her blade next to his throat.

"Th-they're back…there." Even with all of his fractures and cuts, Ken managed to lift his hand and pointed to a small door behind the plateau for his throne, "Good luck, kunoichi." He chuckled a few times and passed out.

**Okay I hope you all find this chapter okay. I do feel my "action-packed" chapters are a bit… not so actiony? I'm trying to give off Sakura's tactical appeal to her newfound skills. NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO GET INTENSE! So I hope you all are excited for it.**

**Tanks for your awesome comments and your continued support and love. Kisses! XXOOXXOO**


	16. Released Emotions

All characters and their designs belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san

**All characters and their designs belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san! Arigatou!**

**Released Emotions**

She ran, with all of her heart down that hall, slowing down when she saw a door with an eyehole hatch on it. She paused for a few seconds and concentrated a small amount of chakra to her fist.

Her hand obliterated the door to mere splinters as she ran in to find a long hallway of prison cells and another door at the end of the hall. She paused, listening for any signs of life in the cells.

The first two cells were empty, but as she continued to walk into the hall the cell on her right held the form of a nin that she recognized easily. Genma lay on the floor, battered and bruised from what she could see to be the after effects of a battle. The cell on her left held the other two random nins that were sent in the team with Shiranui and Kakashi.

Sakura continued towards the door at the end of the halls, checking each cell as she went by. The next two held Kurenai and Shizune. Kurenai was in pretty much the same condition as Genma was, passed out on the floor with numerous bruises and contusions. Shizune was balled up in the back corner of her cell, her hand glowing the lighest shade of green she could muster.

It was evident that she was almost completely out of chakra, but Shizune was trying her hardest to heal the wounds that she received from a battle earlier. With every urge that Sakura had to converse with her fellow medic nin, a small clock kept ticking in the back of her mind.

She continued on towards the end of the hall, taking in every infuriating sight that she saw. Naruto was in the cell next to Shizune's. He was chained by both hands and feet and a few other chains wrapped around his body. All of the chains were padlocked to the wall and the boy lay asleep in his chain link cocoon. _I guess the Kyuubi came out a little. I'm surprised that they managed to get him back in his cell._

Sakura turned and noted Sai. His hands were stuck in brackets above his head, his feet in similar brackets. His eyes were open and he had an off-white strip of fabric tied as a gag around his mouth. _I guess they got tired of his smart mouth. _He created a few muffles and looked sideways towards the door that Sakura was making progress to.

She looked at the door and progressed past the last set of cells. To this she completely stopped in her tracks and felt the tears of anger burn when they started to come out. Ino was there. She was sitting with her hands dangling above her head in the chains that were attached to the wall. Though she was sleeping, Sakura didn't have to hear her say anything to know what happened.

Her face was dirty, but there were two defined lines on her cheeks that showed she had been crying. Ino's clothes were ripped: her shirt no longer covering her chest, and her skirt was practically shredded to ribbons. She had numerous bruises and cuts on her.

Ino's face was completely black and blue. Her skirt ribbons were stained with blood and Sakura couldn't even imagine what she must've gone through since her capture.

With fists balled and her teeth clenched Sakura continued to turn, awaiting to find her beloved in the cell opposite her best friend, however the cell was empty and Sakura's tears became more frequent.

The cherry blossom punched the next door with more fury than the other and found herself in her final destination. A sickly looking man was standing over a set of medical instruments and looked up at the blossom when she entered the room.

He was a well-toned man, however he had large bags under his eyes and it seemed like he was paler than what she had expected him to be. It took her a few moments to realize what lay before her, but when she noticed her anger seemed to spike even more.

Kakashi was strapped to the wall similar to how Sai was, however he had an odd contraption holding his head still in one place. His left eye was being held open by another odd-looking mechanism.

Kakashi jolted awake when he noticed Sakura walking into the room. For a moment, he thought that he was seeing things, or dreaming. He had blurred everything out, feeling the cold isolation that he once felt in his childhood years.

_It was his fault for getting them captured. Paccun was away, but he was still dazing, and that's when it happened. About six other nins had ambushed them, all of them striking at Kakashi first. They took him out without him making a sound, yet Shiranui still awoke and tok his stance._

_Sure, they were an elite team, but when they've been taken off guard, things got a bit tricky, especially when their very own copy nin was so out of it that he about as discreet and skilled as Naruto is when he's drunk._

_Genma had found himself fighting fair amount of nins, and Kurenai and Shizune were already knocked out from the surprise on the camp. He spit out his senbon needle at one of the nins, taking him out with a pressure point to the neck._

_He stood in his stance, and fought his ass off, yet there were just too many and it was all far too much to expect him to be able to defend his entire team from that many attackers. Even for Shiranui, it was all just too much. It seemed like the opposing nin took their aggression out on him before knocking him out._

Sakura stood in the doorway in a stance similar to how Naruto did when he was about to go Kyuubi. Her eyes had nothing but pure hatred as she looked at the man holding a scalpel.

"What…" her voice was practically demonic, "did…you do?"

The man smiled and looked at the livid blossom, "I was about to extract this sharingan. Such a rare gift, yet I've been desiring the opportunity to master genjutsu."

Her hand had found its way back to the katana that Kakashi had given to her as a gift. She was squeezing the handle so tight that she didn't even notice the slight static charge that her hand had created.

"You don't deserve to live…" A mental image of Ino flashed through her mind, "None of you bastards do!" Her eyes had reappeared from below her pink hair.

Kakashi's sharingan eye was drying out, but he couldn't help but watch in astonishment as his own cherry blossom was turning into a kyuubi of her own. She was becoming more and more pissed, adding a chill to the room, and…was his hair standing on end?

Sakura fought with every ounce that she could to think things through before she just annihilated the asshole standing before her. She couldn't stop it; the feeling of pure anger and the mental images of those whom she held dear. They just kept overflowing like the tears that were coming out of her eyes.

"I'll kill every single one of you." It was eerily scary. Sakura's body was glowing, and it seemed as if the light was starting to form in arcs.

Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes. Sakura was performing chidori, but not like he used it. It was a full body chidori: one that had changed the entire balance of moisture and heat in the room.

Sakura held her blade out to the sickly man's neck and moved it southward toward his heart. She stepped forward and maintained the same position of the blade, bending her arm backwards slightly.

Her eyes had a strange glint to them, however the lightning around her body seemed to expand even further from her body. She thrust the blade into the man's heart and instantly killed him.

Kakashi remained speechless. Sakura had never been taught those techniques, nor had she ever had the speed to achieve the chidori. His mind was racing and he couldn't find any possible solution as to how she could've managed to attain that skill.

She removed both mechanisms that held his eye and head the way the man wanted and pulled the padlocks off of the brackets that held him down. Neither of them spoke. They knew things weren't patched up between them and this was neither the time nor the place for it.

Sakura ripped off a remnant from her torn sleeve and gave it to Kakashi. He stood there with a questioning appearance on his face, confused as to what she gave him that for. The blossom sighed slightly and took the fabric from him. She slowly wrapped the remnant around his Sharingan eye in a similar fashion to his headband and tied in the back.

Kakashi found himself jump ever so slightly when he heard the soft, meek sound of her voice when she spoke, "Do you think you can help me carry the others out?"

He nodded, not saying anything. He knew he didn't want to be on the brunt end of what had just occurred, and he knew that she wasn't exactly happy with him. Kakashi watched as the still livid blossom continued into the other room and bent the bars to Ino's cell.

Kakashi raised his hand to touch the ripped fragment that Sakura had tied around his eye. Considering how angry she was, she still managed to be gentle when she was doing him a favor. She still managed to think of him. She saved him first.

He walked in to the room of cells and turned to find Sakura sitting with her best friend in her arms. Her anger seemed to have faded into depression. He noted that Sakura's other kimono sleeve was sliced, and now wrapped around Ino's chest, clearly covering her torn shirt.

"Why?" She looked up at him with a tear strewn face, "Why wasn't it me? I could've stopped all of this…"

Kakashi didn't know what to say. He was the most inexperienced person at emotions, and he knew anything he said might set her off again. He watched as her hand begin to glow with her green chakra.

The copy nin walked on. He released Sai from his confines and checked him over. A few cuts and bruises, but he was in much better condition than the others.

"What happened?" Kakashi was straight and to the point, he knew he didn't have time to just sit and talk.

"We successfully completed our mission, but we were ambushed when coming back to Konoha." He was rubbing his elbow and looked at Kakashi with confusion, "How did you get captured?"

Kakashi didn't respond, he just continued on to Naruto's cell, Sai following him, "What happened to Naruto?" Kakashi opened the cell door with the keys he had from the guard.

"He…the kyuubi came out a little." Kakashi nodded

"How much?" the chains were unlocked and Naruto fell into Kakashis arms.

"One tail. He was moving on to another when…" Naruto's eyes popped open and took in Kakashi's face.

"Ka..kashi…sen-" Naruto blacked out again, falling limp into his former teacher's arms.

"How did they suppress it?" Kakashi picked up his limp student and walked on to Kurenai's cell.

"I don't know. I'm assuming someone has similar abilities to the man who cut Sakura. That's the only conceivable way I think that could happen."

"Hn." The silver haired jounin placed Naruto against the stone pillar between two cells.

Kakashi and Sai had finished releasing the rest of the nin. Of them all, about two could walk, the others were too hurt to be able to do anything.

Shizune was awake, but she was too battered to be able to walk on her own, Kurenai and Genma were both out cold, similar to Naruto, and the other two nin were pretty bruised, but were able to walk and help carry the others.

Kakashi returned to the cell where Ino and Sakura resided, taking note to Sakura's calmer exterior. He was afraid of setting her off again, but found it best to inform her of their time, "Sakura, we need to get moving."

She nodded silently and picked up her beloved friend. Following her former sensei down the hall. Sakura looked and analyzed each person before they set out. She had to heal some of Kurenai and Genma's wounds, and a pretty nasty cut that Sai had on his elbow, but she knew if she used any more she probably wouldn't be able to fight off some of the brutes as they ran back to Konoha.

"We should go." The cherry blossom picked up Ino in a piggy-back fashion and moved to the front of the pack.

"Wait," Kakashi didn't want to upset her but he had to comment on her wounds, "You should probably take care of your cuts as well."

Her brow furrowed as she looked at him, "I'm fine…sensei." She looked back towards the other end of the hall and began to walk quickly. The silver haired jounin frowned when she spoke that last word. _Yeah. She's still pissed._

He picked up Kurenai in the same fashion that Sakura had Ino and followed her out of the hall. The entire team was following suit, Sai had Naruto draped over his shoulder, slightly scowling at the fact that he got stuck with the dickless bastard.

They trekked out to the main hall without trouble. Sakura searched the main hall, suspicion arousing when not a single bandit had entered.

"What's going on?" she dashed towards the doorway where she entered.

"This is a bit odd," Shizune added, "Wouldn't there be guards or something?"

"There were." Sakura added, clearly confused. She continued leading the pack through the winding hallways until they reached the main gate.

Everyone was on edge. Not a single enemy had come across their path through the entire time they were there.

"Get ready, I have a feeling we're going to be faced with enemies on the other side of this gate." One of the unnamed nin that was on Kakashi's team spoke out, verbalizing what everyone else had felt.

"Should something happen, I want you to get everyone else back to the village," Sakura was being brave, but she knew it was she that they wanted, and it would be she that they would get. _At least if I have any say in it._

She punched the gate, similar to how she broke the doors in the back prisons. They stepped out in their fighting stances. Not a single enemy presence could be felt.

The moon was high, signaling that it was around ten or eleven o'clock. The forests calm silence was eerie and the branches swayed with the breeze that came through.

"Let's go!" Sakura began to run, not using any of her chakra. She knew that almost all of her team was completely out of chakra. It was a steep question to ask them to even run with her. They obliged, naturally. All of them knew what would happen if they were to run into a large squad of assassins.

She stopped short. Sakura felt a presence. She was practically out of chakra, and she didn't know how she could fight with Ino draped across her back. The number of chakra signals was increasing: three, four, five. Five chakra signals, and from what she could tell, they were coming in fast.

She turned to Kakashi, "Please… take them and get out of here!"

"No. Wait, Sakura." Kakashi remained motionless. One ANBU had dropped down right in front of Sakura, some evident cuts on his arms.

"We're here to take the injured back to Tsunade-sama." The cherry blossom breathed a sigh of relief and dashed over to hand Ino to the man standing before him.

"Where are the bandits?" Kakashi hitched kurenai higher on his back when he spoke.

Another ANBU walked up beside the man holding Ino and spoke up, " The rest of our squad is drawing them away to allow safe passage for you all."

"They pulled every single bandit out of that place?"

"Almost all of them, we did get a good surprise attack on some of them at the front gate." The last three ANBU walked out of the shadows of the forest towards Sakura's party.

After the rest of the ANBU picked up the injured the signaled to each other to head back towards Konoha, "We recommend you take a different route to the village, we can't really protect you all if we have the injured."

Sakura nodded in agreement and began to walk in a different direction than the ANBU squad. Her party followed suit, saluting in appreciation when the last ANBU vanished.

They had been running, without chakra. Some were starting to lose their breath, but Sakura had been pushing everything: her pain, her anger, everything to the back of her mind. Everything didn't seem to matter as much as her friends being safe.

She paused, another three chakra signals had appeared in front of them. She slid her hand up in a stopping motion for the others.

**YES! Cliffhanger (I didn't have a better place to cut it off sorry --) I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP so it's not so shockingly cut off. I love you all. Your support is much appreciated and I hope to continue to hear from all of you!**


	17. For the Ones I Love

All Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

**All Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto**

**For the Ones I Love**

"Kakashi, please keep going." She dropped the sensei for just sheer speed and convenience, but she was still awkward around him.

"No," He looked at Sai and signaled him to leave, "You can't handle this many in your condition." She grimaced again and looked back at him. He was right, but she didn't think he had the proper amount of strength either.

A large man stepped forward out of the shadows. It was uncanny how similar he appeared to the original man that had cut Sakura.

"Well, well. It appears you did show up." The man smiled and stared the young cherry blossom over. He paused when he saw her kimono's length and smirked when he noted the edge of the cut on her neck, "It seems my brother managed to get a proper hit on you, yet here you stand, alive."

He hand automatically shot up to the cut on her neck. _His brother?_ Finally the pieces clicked together, "I get it, now. The leader that I fought was a dummy. A replacement."

The man smirked, "You're smarter than you look." Two other nin had stepped out behind the real leader of the organization, "It appeared that the trade didn't go as planned, but I've always been controlling the moves from behind Watanabe's disguise. He seemed to enjoy the attention he gets from being in power."

"So where was he ranked in comparison to the rest of the organization?" Sakura paused; she knew he was too easy to beat considering he was the 'leader.'

"I'd say he's lower then the top five," he looked over at the man on his left, "perhaps ten."

"Why use such a weakling to be your replacement?" she was in her fighting stance and trying to find any weakness that might've been exposed.

"None of my other officers wanted to get all of the attention." He pointed to the two standing behind him to clarify that they were of his higher ranked officers, "That, and he was such an arrogant bastard, he deserved to die."

She clenched her right fist, ready to strike. Sakura hated any disregard for human life, no matter how deserving the person may have been. Kakashi stood next to his blossom and looked over at her, taking in her face at least one more time. _Things look a bit bleak. _

Sakura turned her head to look over at her former sensei. She wanted to say so much to him._ I must make it through this. _She glanced once more._ We both have to. I have to tell him…_

The leader raised his arm to his captains, "Take them out," He hopped up to sit on top of an overhanging branch, "but make it entertaining, at least."

It was clear that both Sakura and Kakashi had to take an opponent on their own. Sakura examined the man she was standing closer to. He was pretty slim. His hair was long, dark and greasy, hanging in front of his face. The man was hunched over a bit, making him appear more like a gorilla than a human.

The lanky man lifted his hands and performed a set of seals flawlessly. Before Sakura knew it, her opponent disappeared and she felt a chill crawl down her spine. The blossom checked her surroundings, seeing and feeling only Kakashi, his opponent, and the leader sitting on the branch.

Even when she trained with Kakashi and Naruto, she could still feel Kakashi hiding underground. This opponent couldn't be felt in the surrounding area at all.

Kakashi darted besides the roseate haired kunoichi and drew his kunai. She sidestepped him when his blade almost made contact with her right cheek.

"Kaka-sensei, what're doing?!" She grabbed at the miniscule cut that had formed on her face. He turned again and dashed at her with his blade. It was difficult, she had to admit, Kakashi was an extremely fast-paced fighter, and she was not know for dodging or speed. _Why is he doing this? Is he being controlled?_

"Kakashi-sensei! Stop this!" The blossom stared at his exposed eye. _He doesn't show any signs of being controlled._ She continued avoiding his attacks, still attempting to feel around for her true opponent's chakra signal.

_Even Ino leaves her own chakra signal when she controls someone else's mind._ She was trying to fit the pieces together. Thinking usually came so easy to her, but it was tasking to do when her own former teacher was attacking her. Okay, her former lover, but she wasn't about to go admitting that in the midst of battle.

Kakashi attacked her straight forward; similar to the predictable mannerisms that Naruto had. She smirked and snatched the Kunai from his hand. _Easier than I thought, but it's going to be more difficult breaking it._

Sakura turned the Kunai and jammed it into her already cut leg. She flinched. The kunoichi would normally attempt to suppress the pain, however it was imperative that she felt it. She bit her lip hard. Her teeth created a small cut on her lip and the blood began to drip down from her new wound.

Suddenly, Sakura was standing before her opponent, and Kakashi was sparring with his officer nin. She was right. _Genjutsu, yet it's nothing compared to the Sharingan if I can release it this easily._ She looked down at her leg. It wasn't easy, but it was good enough that she didn't need someone else to force their chakra into her.

"Genjutsu specialist?" She stared at the man's feet. It was the one trick that Kakashi taught her to do. It was easy tell a genjutsu user's move from their feet, and the fighter didn't have to make eye contact to see where they were moving.

The leader of the bandit organization looked down at the blossom's actions, realizing what she was doing to avoid the genjutsu, "Sorry, sweetcakes, but Morimoto here doesn't need to use the eyes to form a genjutsu." Sakura flinched. _Then how does he do it?_

_Genjutsu is a technique used by nin to confuse the senses. Five senses: Sight, sound, scent, taste, and feel. He hasn't touched me and if this man says he doesn't use his eyes, then there are only three other options._

Sakura analyzed the man, watching his movements and each different hand sign he made. There was nothing out of the ordinary to him. Then, she took note to it. The bells he had hanging from his sleeves. They were small enough to appear like beads, and the sound couldn't be heard unless you completely focused on it.

_Sound Genjutsu. The only problem is, I have nothing to block sound._ She checked her surroundings. She needed something, anything. She needed to block the sound before she was caught in another genjutsu.

The kunoichi looked down and stared at the remnants of her kimono. There was basically nothing left she could tear off to shove into her ears. She was thinking of only one way, but it seemed like a last resort decision. Cutting off her body's capability to hear would be suicidal. It would take far too long for her hearing to come back, and she needed to be able to hear if she was going to defeat the man sitting on the branch. Her mind pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

She glanced up at the leader sitting in the tree, above. _Brothers._ A small flash of the two battling Uchiha came to mind when she thought of that word. Sakura dashed as fast as she could toward the man with the genjutsu bells. It was odd; she watched as his hands moved at what seemed to be a slower, normal speed.

She appeared behind him and grabbed the back of his vest as she kicked him in the small of his back. Her opponent was hit with such speed that his vest tore at the seams and remained in the blossom's hand when he caught himself from falling face first into the dirt.

The genjutsu user scowled when he saw that she had his vest, however he formed his hand seals again, preparing to use another attack on her. She threw his vest on the ground. Sakura moved just as quickly as before, and landed a solid blow on his left cheek. Her opponent was instantly sent flying back into the trunk of the tree that the leader sat on.

Sakura stood up straight and analyzed the nin's actions. He remained still, but she knew he wasn't down for the count. He was giving himself a second to recuperate from the bone shattering impact of her fist. _I need to get rid of him with the least amount of chakra use._

The roseate haired nin glanced back to the leader of the organization. He hd shifted to a different branch, but he sat in the same position as he did before. _I need my chakra to take him out properly._ She looked at Morimoto and then over at Kakashi sparring with his opponent. _No, eyes..._ Suddenly, the pieces fit together.

"So how long have you been watching me, Morimoto?" Sakura tightened her fists and took her stance.

The nin's face twisted into a malicious smile, "Observant little pet aren't you?" He stood up while looking at her through his greasy hair, "How did you know?"

"You were using genjutsu on him the night you came to kidnap me, weren't you?" She motioned towards Kakashi by tilting her head in his direction. She knew that Kakashi would never just sleep through all of that. Of all of the missions that she's been on with him, never once did he ever sleep in, or sleep for that matter. Every time she saw him, he was never asleep, well at least, until he stayed at her apartment.

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't." He was playing mind games, but the fact that he didn't deny it gave him away.

"How long?" She didn't have any patience at this point. She wanted to know how long they had been watching her. She needed to get rid of him and just wanted a straight answer, similar to how Tsunade wanted straight answers.

"Well, after the initial kidnapping of the boss's little bro, I was sent out to track your movements, to find out where he was being held." He stood motionless, talking to the sweet blossom that stood before him, drenched in her own blood, "When I found that he was being held in the Hokage's tower, I sent word back here and was told to continue trying to track you down."

"Why me?" She was slightly confused. Sakura was nothing special, at least not in her mind. She was average at everything: physical appearance, emotional condition, intellectual level.

"We were meant to track down the entire team that took the vice captain out. My job was to find you," He snickered creepily at the thought of when he found her. "I saw the copy nin before I found you, and set my sights on him with my genjutsu. I would find a weakness from his past and bring it to the forefront of his mind, making him uneasy and unfocused for when we decided to strike."

"So the nights when he screamed my name were…"

"My work." He began to chuckle with a small rasp in his voice. Within an instant, the cherry blossom had charged the genjutsu user and made a critical strike on the back of his neck. The man fell limply onto the pile of organic tree debris, quickly bouncing back up and away from the livid kunoichi that mirrored his tactical motions.

He was struggling to dodge her rapid movements and oncoming barrage of physical blows, yet somehow managed to avoid her lightening speed. Sakura stood still. She knew what he was doing, and she refused to continue following him. _He's trying to drain my chakra even more._ She was already running on her reserves. The only problem was, it was mandatory that she maintained the extremely fast-pace or else he would be able to trap her in another genjutsu.

Sakura charged her opponent again, thinking of each of his next moves and mapping out where a pattern of his motions. His left side was moving more sluggish than his right, and the skilled kunoichi took note to this weakness.

She continued to chase him into one area to the next. Her surroundings were what would win this fight for her, and she knew it. She would come in from one direction and then another, gradually pinning her prey like a huntress on the plains. She finally made her move.

Morimoto's eyes widened when he realized that he was trapped. She had won, he knew it, and he froze, allowing Sakura to land her final blow. He fell limp to the ground, similar to how a pile of dishes would topple over. She stood silent for a moment, and then turned to look at Kakashi. He was still fighting his opponent with a kunai that she had no doubt her former sensei had stolen from his enemy.

The leader of the rogue organization hopped down from his branch and clapped, "Very impressive! Very few have ever even gotten close to beating Morimoto." She felt a slight boost of confidence when he mentioned this, "However, no one has ever beaten me."

Suddenly, the boost that Sakura had just earned fell flat as she scanned her surroundings. _I'm at a serious disadvantage here. He's already seen and analyzed my fighting style and I'm really low on chakra._

The man pulled a sequence of senbon needles out of his pocket and charged at Sakura. He was fast. So much so, that all of Sakura's new training still wasn't enough to help her dodge his attacks. She was putting almost all of her effort into side-stepping and avoiding every needle that he was jabbing at her with.

He managed to stick one into her right side and left it in her as he jumped away. Sakura pulled the senbon out as quickly as possible. She bent over slightly and rubbed the entry wound of the needle. It was getting slightly numb and she noticed it a little more difficult to move that side of her body.

Everything began to fit together so easily. _Brothers…_She began to visualize the reports she read about the man's brother:

_A special kekkei genkai. One that follows its roots into the land of the mist: chakra manipulation. Similar to that of the Hyuuga clan and the Byakugan, this familial ability is based on the chakra network and pressure points that release or block the energy flows. Unlike the Sharingan and Byakugan, it's nearly impossible to physically determine if the user has the capability to perform this skill properly before they use it in battle. The only, clear aspect of this blood trait limit is that the user may use any sharp edge as a needle to cut off, and furthermore, drain chakra from the body._

_The only method discovered to recovery from this technique is the full removal of chakra from the body and the reintroduction from another source. There have been no other findings as to how to seal off this kekkei genkai's ability during battle._

Sakura rubbed the puncture wound. It seemed like every instance she had to battle someone from this organization it was all about time and thinking fast. She analyzed the man and the battle she had with his brother. _Tactful, and intelligent. His brother knew where to hit on the team. Take out the medic nin before the strength._

The leader smirked and stood in a boastful stance, "Are you going to come after me, or should I chase you?"

_Arrogant._ She mentally prayed as she thought her small plan through. Sakura began to mentally reflect on her situation.

She came here to free her friends; to release those whom she loves. She glanced quickly at Kakashi. _I guess I won't get the opportunity to tell him one last time._ Sakura was ready. She thought of Naruto, chained up like the beast that resided in his body. Sai, Shizune, Kureni, Genma, and Ino. Poor Ino. This entire mess was Sakura's fault, at least in her mind, it was.

She charged at the man, fist emblazoned with a pale blue chakra condensing around it. It looked as if she had pulled this out of Naruto's book and his rasengan techniques. She stopped short and hit the ground, shattering it to mere dust and pebbles beneath her enemy's feet.

He paused for a moment, appalled by the brute strength that this young girl could harness. He kicked off of the ground and threw three senbon needles at her torso. She sidestepped slightly, receiving one more puncture wound in her torso on the other side and making it twice as difficult for her to maintain her fighting stance.

Sakura stopped, this senbon was in a far more dangerous pressure point than the first. It landed between two of her ribs on the right side. _The intercostals. He's taking out my respiratory capabilities._ She removed the senbon and smirked at him, "You know the human body better than I thought."

"As do you. You're a medic nin, I presume?" His hands were full of his needles again. As he was speaking to her with his superior tone he stared over each injury that was on the kunoichi that stood before him, "But, apparently, you aren't a very good one."

Sakura continued to stare at him with malice, "I don't heal until it's absolutely necessary. It's key to preserve my chakra for the task at hand."

"Believe me, you don't have enough." The arrogant fool stood tall and puffed out his chest like a gorilla.

She knew her chances had been cut by at least another twenty percent. Her movements were slower, her breathing ragged, and her energy was low. _Time is running out._ Sakura shifted her fighting stance ever so slightly. He was going to aim for her diaphragm soon, and then he'd watch her writhe and suffer for air.

He made the next move, throwing the senbon and dashing to the side in an attempt to find a different angle. She dodged, slowly. Her body was sluggish. _ This is it._

The mental image of Ino-pig appeared to Sakura, setting her off again. She stared at the man with the pure intent of killing him. _For Naruto, and Kakashi…_f_or Ino. For the ones I love._ She could feel the same energy surging through her that she had before. She was draining all of her chakra for this last attack, but it would be worth it.

She formed a few hand seals while charging at the man that stood before her. Tears streaming at her eyes, she felt the electric charge overtake her body. The leader stepped ever so slightly to the side to dodge the blossom in a conceited manner.

Suddenly he noted an electric jolt surge through his body. A small amount of saliva dribbled out of the sides of his mouth before he fell to the ground, dead.

Sakura looked at her clone that had used the chidori. She didn't know it, but her newfound ability to suppress and create a different chakra signal had won this battle for her.

She turned, slowly, noting that both Kakashi and his opponent were lying on the ground. It took every amount of strength that she had left, but Sakura managed to crawl to the side of her former lover.

He was still breathing and his pulse was faint. Of course, she was a medic before a concerned friend, before the lover that she wished she could be once more. She lifted his head onto her lap as he opened his eyes to reveal the two toned eyes of the famous copy nin.

Kakashi's calm and soothing voice broke the uneasy silence after their battle, "Is he dead?"

She was mustering all of her strength to stay awake, to stay in the moment, "Yes."

He smiled softly, he'd been without a mask for about a complete twenty-four hours, "I have to admit, I didn't think you'd beat him," his smile faded, "I thought I would never get to see you again."

It was a picturesque moment. Sakura staring down at the man she loved with that affectionate gaze only she could manage for him, "You underestimate me too much."

He smirked slightly, "I think I overdid it with the Sharingan this time."

"Hm."

"Sakura."

"Hm?" she struggled and managed to run her fingers through his hair, enjoying this last moment she had with him. She knew they weren't going to come back from this; at least, _she_ wouldn't come back from this. She was bleeding too much, and she had been hit with the chakra draining jutsu again. No one would find them out here in time to save her.

"I…want to tell you," he stared up into the large green orbs that she had for her eyes, "I love you."

It was hard for her to muster enough energy to move, but the shock on her face gave her another surge of energy, "I've always loved you, Kakashi-kun," Sakura bent forward and kissed him, softly. She pulled away and stared down at him with a smile, and a small glistening trail of tears on each cheek.

Kakashi closed his eyes. He could feel her presence fading fast, but it was he that passed out from exhaustion first. Sakura sat there, struggling for that last moment she would get to see his face. She took it all in, those lips, his nose, his now closed eyes. She traced over the scar on his left eye with her attentive glance.

_I guess I'll never get to hear him tell me how he got that. _She bent over the man she loved and passed out with her head hanging over his. Darkness had consumed both of them.

**OH my goodness!! What will come of our loving couple now!? Cliffhanger! Drama! sniffle Love… Anyways. I do love your input and your loving comments. I also appreciate any critiques (as long as they're not too mean.) I love you all, and I will try to be more hasty when putting up chapters.**


	18. Restoring Life

Muffled voices could be heard coming from the other side of a door when Kakashi came to

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, I do not claim to own these characters.**

**Restoring Life**

Muffled voices could be heard coming from the other side of a door when Kakashi came to. He kept his eyes closed and listened attentively to the conversation, failing to fully comprehend the subject that the voices were talking about.

The door to his room opened and he heard Shizune and Tsunade conversing to each other in medical terms and proper courses of actions. Kakashi opened his eyes barely, and slammed them back shut when the light hit his Sharingan. Neither of the medical experts in the room had considered how sensitive his Sharingan was to the light that was coming in through the window. They didn't even consider covering it for him, which they usually were so inclined to do when he was in the hospital.

He opened his right eye and stared at Tsunade scribbling off on a paper on her clipboard. She looked at the jounin when he tilted his head and put her clipboard down on the nightstand next to the table.

Shizune grabbed his wrist that was lying on top of the blanket and checked his pulse. Tsunade checked the IV that was hooked up to his arm and added a small injection into the tubing connected to it.

"T…Tsunade-s-sama…" He was parched. He was extremely dehydrated and his body ached all over. It was like he was swallowing a pile of needles when he tried to talk.

"Kakashi, nice to see you in the living world." Tsunade signaled to Shizune to go retrieve water for their patient, "How are you feeling?" His voice rasped slightly, but no audible words could be heard. Her face remained apathetic, "Shizune will be back shortly with some water for you."

He closed his eyes and tilted his head downward to signify he understood. Shizune arrived a few minutes later with a large glass of ice water and a straw sticking out of the side.

He began to sit up, feeling the weight of his body fighting against the strain and lack of energy he had. Kakashi managed to get halfway up until Tsunade placed her hand on his shoulder and helped him sit straight up. He took a sip from the water and looked at the godaime.

"How long has it been?" He knew he would be out for a while. The last time he used the Sharingan this much he was bedridden for a week, however he didn't use his Mangekyou this time around, which would assist in his recovery. Even so, he used everything had to take that out that general.

"It's been nine days." Kakashi was stunned. _Nine days? _He didn't expect his lack of chakra to put him out for that long. He didn't even use his mangekyou. Sakura had taken out two officers, at least, and he could only muster enough energy to kill one. His eyes widened when the thought struck him.

"Wh…Where's Sakura?" He looked directly at Tsunade and analyzed her body positions. She shot a concerned look at Shizune and shifted her weight on to her left leg. He knew she was looking for a lie, or some manner to cushion the blow of the truth, "Tsunade-sama, just tell me."

"Kakashi…" Her eyes were sympathetic. She thought back to their conversation they had the day before he left for his mission. She forced them apart, but even now, after he was at his weakest, his concern for Sakura was far more than he could ever muster for anything or anyone else.

"Just say it!" The godaime stepped back slightly. She had never actually heard Kakashi get angry like this, but he certainly did command attention when he wanted an answer. He rarely got to the point of yelling, even stern words were uncommon for him.

"She's alive, but barely. Her chakra levels were so low and she had lost so much blood," Tsunade straightened her posture again and crossed her arms in front of her, "we can't guarantee that she'll come back from this. If things keep going the way they are...she definitely won't survive." She looked at him, practically seeing herself about a week ago when she found this news out herself.

Sakura was practically a daughter to Tsunade, and to hear that she wouldn't make it through this was like someone taking one thousand Kusanagi blades and stabbing her through the heart. Tsunade actually locked herself in her office for two days straight to avoid others seeing her in such an emotionally weakened state. It was unprofessional for her to be seen crying over the loss of one nin. Watching Kakashi right now was like she was watching how she reacted to the news.

He stopped breathing for a few moments. Kakashi's stomach was empty but he felt like he couldn't hold anything down, even the air in his lungs made him feel like he was going to gag. He was silent and just looked at Tsunade in a questioning manner. He couldn't put anything into words, yet she knew what he wanted to know.

"Her body isn't accepting any of the chakra that the medic nins are trying to provide to her. It's odd, " she stared out of the window, "She was injured by the same technique that she was hit with before, but it's not draining her chakra like is did before." He just continued to stare at her while intently listening to her information.

"Her body isn't making any of it's own either. She has such a small reserve left, and we can't help her by adding to it like before. She just won't accept it."

Shizune stepped forward and began to chime in, noticing Tsunade struggle to continue, "Sakura's wounds were cauterized somehow. There are no marks from any heated blades or anything, but they were all closed off to prevent further bleeding." She look at Tsunade and back at Kakashi, "Her body was covered in blood though, which means it happened after the damage was already done."

"Kakashi," Tsunade had regained her posture and looked at him, "I know you can't do it right now, but I'm going to have to ask for an entire mission statement for what happened."

He nodded acknowledging her request and still focused on Shizune's statement, "Were all of her open wounds closed from cauterization?"

She tilted her head downwards, "There were two puncture wounds she had on her torso, each aiming at the intercostals on both sides. We could tell that these were the wounds that the chakra depletion technique was used on. The others were clearly inflicted by other nin and blades."

"Who found us?" Everything was started to come back him. He remembered the battle with his officer, Sakura and the leader if the organization, and those eyes that he saw before he passed out.

"When Sakura left on her own to go find you, we sent Ibiki out after her to protect her. I received a report from him about what happened from his end. He didn't arrive until after Sakura was already taken in, but he and his team diverted all attention away from her by ambushing the compound." Tsunade basically gave him the extremely short story, she'd been filling out paperwork and other files about last week's occurrence for far too long.

"That explains why there weren't any nins when we were breaking out." He began to trace over the night in his mind.

"Apparently, Ibiki picked up on the group and sent a few nin to aid Sai and the others back here. After his battle, he found you two on the brink of death. He brought you back here, and you have both been in the hospital since then. Sakura's been passed out since then."

He shifted slightly, "Where is she, now?"

"She's down the hall in room three twenty." Tsunade practically snapped at Shizune when she responded. She had an angry facial expression and shot Shizune one of the most deadly appearances ever.

"We'll let you rest, now, Kakashi. Call us if you need anything." She pointed to the small device with a button on it, indicating that it was a way to contact them. Tsunade walked towards the door and turned around to point to the nightstand, "Naruto brought you a gift, though."

He turned and smirked when he saw a small stack of orange covered books on the table. Tsunade closed the door after he waved goodbye and walked with Shizune towards her office.

Kakashi waited for Tsunade and Shizune's chakra signals to leave until he moved. It was difficult to get out of the bed, but he was in a much better condition than he was when he fought that blonde Akatsuki with his mangekyou. He ripped the tubing of the IV out of his arm and stood up.

"Hm." He grabbed his right wrist and twisted it around a few times, trying to figure out if he had moderate amount of movement. His legs were weak and he was starting to feel his body drag him down. Kakashi glanced over at the IV and contemplated what it was that Tsunade added to the tube. _Probably something that increases the chakra production capabilities in the body._

He walked towards the door and felt his body getting weaker by the second. Kakashi opened the door just a crack, analyzed the hallway for any people, and walked out to the right. He followed the numbers next to each door, leaning on the wall for extra support.

He passed room three hundred and twelve, feeling lightheaded and weak. It was tasking, but Kakashi wanted to see Sakura more than anything else, right now. He leaned against wall with almost all of his weight by the time he got to room three hundred and eighteen.

Kakashi saw it; the glint of the silver handle on the door to Sakura's room. _Just a few more feet._ He stepped two more times and wrapped his hand around the handle, pulling the door toward him and revealing a sight that he never wanted to see in his life.

Sakura was hooked up to machine after machine: a respiratory mask over her mouth, IV's and needles hanging in her arms, her heart beating on the monitor next to her. Naruto sat next to her, his eyes bagging from an evident lack of sleep and Sai leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed in a secluded manner.

Naruto looked up when the door opened. His face went from concerned for Sakura to glad to see Kakashi, to concerned for how fatigued his sensei is. Both Naruto and Sai rushed to Kakashi's side to help him stand.

"What are you doing here Kaka-sensei? WE need to get you back to your room—" Naruto grabbed Kakashi's right arm and began to pull him back towards the hallway until his sensei pulled his arm out of his grasp.

"I'm here…to see…Sakura." Sai let go of Kakashi. However unknowing he was about emotions and reasoning behind things, he gained an unknown adeptness for observing and understanding when someone would not to be convinced otherwise of something.

Kakashi continued stepping forward towards the bed. He was halfway through the room when he heard Tsunade and Shizune running and yelling in the hallway. He gained a small burst of energy, ensuring he would get to be there for her at least once more.

Tsunade slid to a stop in the doorway, "Kakashi, are you insane?! She's unconscious you can't help her!"

The silver-haired jounin kneeled at the side of Sakura's bed, grasping her hand with his. He grabbed the respiratory mask and pulled it off of her nose and mouth, inspecting the curves and scars marked on her face.

Tsunade began to walk furiously toward Kakashi. She wasn't going to take this kind of behavior in her hospital, especially with her own apprentice. Sai held his arm out in front of her, stopping her from proceeding any further.

"Tsunade-sama, I can assure you. Kakashi-senpai will not hurt Sakura." He didn't have to know the situation to understand what was going on. She didn't respond. Tsunade knew that Sai was telling the truth, and she knew that she couldn't stop the two of them even if she wanted to.

Kakashi stared at Sakura's face, "Sakura…" He leaned in to kiss her, not even flinching when a spark shocked him across the lips. He kissed her gently, a single tear sliding down his cheek at the thought of losing her.

Naruto poked his head out from behind Tsunade and Sai and dropped his jaw to the floor, "Obaa-san? What's going on?! Sakura-chan!" He made a disheartened face and fell on his butt.

"Shi…Shizune…did you just see—"

"Yes, but…how?"

Kakashi broke away from the kiss. He brushed his hand against Sakura's cheek, moving a few stray hairs out of the way from her face. He placed his hand on her cheek and widened his eyes when he took note to the fact that her eye had flinched.

Tsunade took note to this reaction as well, her heart jumping at the prospect of her student coming back. Kakashi moved his other hand down and grasped Sakura's. Sakura took a deep breath and squeezed her former sensei's hand. She opened her eyes and smiled weakly at the man sitting next to her.

"S—Sakura?"

"Ka…Ka...sen—"

"No, just Kakashi."

Tsunade rushed to her side to look at the meters and other signs that she had. It was the most confusing thing she had ever seen; however these two had shown her a lot of unknown things within the past three weeks. Besides the fact that she saw her pupil fight death twice, gain new abilities from someone else's chakra, and kill over three S-rank criminals, she had become a fully realized woman in love.

It was hard for Tsunade to accept it. Perhaps it was because she saw Sakura as a daughter and she didn't want to lose her, or maybe it was because she really did want to protect her from going through what she went through, but Tsunade knew one thing: even in death, Kakashi and Sakura's love could surpass any obstacle that came at them.

The Hokage placed her hand over Kakashi's and smiled at both of them, "It's obvious that I was wrong," she paused. It was evident that she had difficulties apologizing, "I'm sorry."

"T…th…thank—" Sakura was still extremely weak, but she could feel the chakra in her system returning.

"No, don't Sakura, you did nothing wrong. Just get better okay?" She stood up and grabbed the clipboard from the wall next to the door, "Kakashi?"

He turned and acknowledged Tsunade, "Hm?"

"Would you prefer I bring in a chair or something more comfortable for you? I get the feeling that, whether we prefer you to or not, you're going to stay here."

He smiled his usual guilt smile. It would usually only come out when he was called out on lying about being late, "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"I do still expect you in your room when you need to sleep. We still have to administer some medical care for you too." Tsunade smiled and stepped over Naruto. He was lying on the floor mumbling soft 'Sakura-chan's' to mourn the loss of his crush. Sai was standing silently next to the door jam, watching the scene play out before him.

Sai grabbed Narruto's wrists and dragged him out of the room. Shizune closed the door behind them, leaving Sakura and Kakashi by themselves.

"I thought I almost lost you, again." Kakashi was holding her hand with both of his. He held on with a little bit of extra force to show his affection.

"You…could…n..never…lose….me," She had to put everything she had into squeezing his hand even with the faintest amount of strength.

"I love you, Sakura."

"I…I love…"

He smiled slightly, gently placing his hand over her mouth, "Don't strain yourself. Get some rest, you need it." Kakashi leaned in to kiss her again and watched as she slowly lowered her eyelids and dozed off again.

He looked over towards the nightstand and noted two small daffodils sitting in a vase._ She's going to want to know about Ino next time she's up._ He looked back down at Sakura.

Kakashi had dozed off for a little while, still holding her hand. He didn't wake up until Shizune had walked in again to check up on Sakura., about two hours later. She opened the door and smiled when she noticed his silver hair lying on the mattress next to Sakura's hand.

"Kakashi, Tsunade-sama wants you to return to your room." He raised an eyebrow at her statement, "Oh, no not because she doesn't want you near Sakura, she just wants to get a report from you, now. Well," she placed the clipboard back on the wall next to the door, "She needs your statement for the village elders. They're already furious at the fact that she let you stay in here without a statement for so long."

He bowed his head in respect and got up to leave the room giving Sakura another kiss before stepping out. Shizune had remained in the room, clearly sent by Tsunade to recheck all of Sakura's vitals.

Kakashi walked slowly toward his room, pausing twice to regain some degree of energy to make it to the door. He opened the door and noted Sai and Naruto both sitting in the room, playing a game of Go. Naruto was, again, losing to the newest member of team Kakashi.

They both took note to the team captain, Naruto immediately getting up to aid his sensei to the bed. Just as Kakashi was properly situated in the bed Tsunade walked through the door. She walked into the room with her Hokage face on and another nin with a notepad for information. The two village elders walked in after them, followed by Sai's superior, Danzo. Kakashi had gotten used to this sort of a situation, Tsunade being followed by information nin and the elders to listen and recap the situation.

**OKAY! Yes! Romanticness, I'm hoping this story will end with the next chapter or two…(it's gotten out of control!) I mean hey! I love the story, and yeah I could keep writing forever, but people will get tired of a neverending story, that and (no offense) but I would prefer to have a clear ending. So…making my way towards the endpoint….I LOVE YOU ALL! Thank you for being there with me, I am working on my Itasaku (even though my bf doesn't like that couple) but I do..so it's a coming **


	19. Happiness

All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I am not claiming to own them.**

**Chapter 19**

**Happiness**

The meeting had gone, well, not as great as anyone from team Kakashi would've wanted. The elders were already livid by the time they stepped through the door, which was probably the main reason as to why every little statement anyone from the team said was quickly cut off by an elder that, obviously, was displeased with the team's actions.

Kakashi should've been more attentive. He shouldn't have any personal feelings for one of his teammates. He should be dismissed permanently. His rank should be stripped of him. Tsunade had retorted to every request that the three of them made, finding that two month's probation from all missions and docking pay for his previous two missions was a justified enough punishment for his "unruly" behavior.

He had to hold back when they had clarified that either he or Sakura was to be removed from the team. Tsunade, yet again, had stood up for them, and mentioned how crucial it was for them to be on the same team, considering Sakura now had his capabilities. The only person that Sakura could be trained from for her new abilities was Kakashi, and they knew it.

There was also a brief moment where the three wanted her to have no formal training in these new abilities whatsoever. They knew she was the best medic nin in the village and they didn't want to lose her abilities. Tsunade was a great medic nin, but Sakura had time to grow, and they expected her to surpass her master far more then where Tsunade could take her.

It was difficult for the slightly boastful Tsunade to bring herself back down and clarify that Sakura was better than her, however, she claimed that these new abilities might take her even further in the line of medical jutsus. It would also make her far more convenient to use on missions, not only for her healing capabilities, but also for her ability to protect herself and not need someone else to watch over her.

The godaime decided to address the couple's current situation with the elders. She clarified that their relationship was permitted, by her views, and no one who served Konohagakure would step between them under her command. It was funny. Right when she had clarified this she looked at Kakashi with a genuine smile on her face and nodded in an approving manner to him.

After the meeting had ended Tsunade left to go to more meetings, the elders and Danzo left, still pissed at the outcome of the meeting, and Naruto plopped onto the extra bed in Kakashi's room. Sai had left after a short discussion about the team while Kakashi was on probation. Apparently, Yamato was to take command like last time should they be placed on any missions.

Two days later, Kakashi had more chakra, and was able to make his way to Sakura's room without even stopping once. She was sitting up, propped on the pillows behind her, with Naruto holding her hand and chatting her ear off about ramen noodles. She saw Kakashi walk through the door and her face instantly turned red.

"Yo." He weakly raised his hand. He knew they had seen each other a couple days ago, but now, they both had the strength and time to address the situations that had occurred, previously. He didn't know why but he was slightly embarrassed too, about the whole situation.

She was scarlet red, and she knew what he wanted to talk about. Kakashi stared at Naruto with the sensei face. The hyperactive ninja took that as a hint, surprisingly since he was the densest nin around, and began to get up. Sakura tightened her grip around the nine-tailed boy's hand, releasing after she noticed Kakashi give her the sensei face as well.

Naruto bent over and whispered a small statement into Sakura's ear and walked out of the room. Her face somehow managed to get even redder and slightly perturbed when he commented to her. After a few seconds the two lover's were alone in the room.

"What did he say?" Kakashi remained standing, his arms crossed in front of him, and all of his weight resting on his right leg. He looked slightly like Sasuke did in his younger years: that cocky and perturbed pose that he would get when he had to do something he didn't want to.

"Uhm..he…he said that…" she looked sideways, anything to avoid that goddamn stare. _His eyes…they still have that look, _"He said, _he_ could give me more."

With that Kakashi struggled to maintain his sensei face, trying to imagine if Naruto could even comprehend how to give Sakura _any_thing, most of all _more_ than what Kakashi could provide. Hell, the boy couldn't even understand the Ichi Ichi books.

"Do you think he could?" He didn't intend to, but Kakashi was putting Sakura in an extremely uncomfortable position. She knew that Naruto couldn't, at least, not how he was right now. She didn't even want to know. She just wanted to be with Kakashi.

She paused before speaking. It was difficult enough to say, "I don't even want to know if he could."

To this Kakashi softened slightly, maintaining his posture, "We need to talk."

With that Sakura's fists tightened around her blanket, "I know." Her eyes began to burn again. She looked back at everything that had occurred, reminiscing about their time together, and what should've happened. She wasn't even supposed to be here. How did she survive? They were both practically dead.

"Sakura," He took a deep breath and sighed it back out.

"Did you mean it?" she was staring down at her hands. She didn't want to see his face, but she knew she had to look to analyze if he was telling the truth or not. Sakura lifted her face to look at her former sensei's eyes.

"Mean what?"

"Did you mean what you said? Right before we passed out?" She was almost dead, but she could remember. It was the most important thing she had ever heard in her life.

His sensei face melted into an even more serious one. One that he would only ever show her: that soft look that a man would give his love when he meant what he was saying, "Yes."

Sakura looked back down at her hands. She was trying to suppress her urge to cry; it was all she ever did in front of him, and she wanted him to remember her for more than just that. He walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly, placed his hand under her chin and to stare into her eyes. He adored how those green orbs would look at him, and focus on only him in that moment.

He lifted her hand up and slid her index finger under the edge of his mask. Kakashi's eyes pleaded with her, practically begging her to remove the mask. She obliged, lifting her other hand up to assist in the mask removal in the same fashion as she did the first time he allowed her to remove his mask. She revealed that same face that she had fallen in love with; the same face she would never get tired of seeing.

Kakashi raised his hands to her wrists and pulled them down, staring straight into her eyes, "I love you, Haruno Sakura." She heard him say it before, but this time it meant so much more. They weren't about to die. It wasn't a last ditch effort to squeeze it in before the afterlife. Her eyes completely filled with tears at the sight of his lips moving with those words, spilling over before she could muster what she wanted to say in return.

"I…I love you so much Kakashi!" She broke out and began sobbing out loud with this statement. She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. He held her softly, feeling a few tears stream down his cheek.

They sat for a few moments until Kakashi released the kunoichi in his arms, leaning forward to kiss her with that same passion he had before his initial conversation with Tsunade. He loved her. God, how he loved her.

"So. If I may ask," he got slightly serious again, but not as much as his sensei face, "why did you come all the way out there, by yourself?"

Sakura sniffed once and wiped a tear from under her left eye, "I had to help. Naruto and Sai…INO!! " She practically jumped when she mentioned Ino, "Where…how is she?"

Kakashi smirked slightly at Sakura's cute behavior, "Tsunade informed me that Ino will be fine, physically. She is being sent to see a psychotherapist for any other aspects of her condition." He was solemn and for a second forgot that he wasn't wearing his mask to hide behind. He realized how upsetting his face was when Sakura's beautiful smile melted into a frown, "Uh, no no, Sakura she's fine. Tsunade couldn't tell me everything, but she says for a woman in Ino's position she's doing extremely well."

Sakura was clearly put at ease by this, "So what did you want to know? Oh, yeah. Uhm, I went out there…well," she turned away from his face, only to find his hand reach back up and turn it back towards his eyes. Her face's scared appearance melted into an 'I give up' appeal, "You. I went out there for you. I have to admit, I was upset. What you said, and what you did, it hurt…a lot. Even now, when I think about it, it still hurts. But I couldn't just leave you out there to die. However angry I was at you and Tsunade-sama, I just couldn't ignore the fact that I love you."

"Sakura…Thank you. You have no idea what you have done for me. I don't just mean in a manner of saving my life that one time. You save my life…my soul." He intertwined her hair into his fingers, "You've changed me for the better. I never used to get involved with people because it seemed that everyone I hold dear dies. I thought I was cursed for the longest time, but…you've changed everything."

She raised her hand to his cheek and then felt him pull her into a hug. This was another moment she just wished she could freeze and place it into a box for her children to be able to see.

"So, Sakura. How did you gain that abilitiy?"

"Huh? Oh…I don't know. I just, when I thought about Ino and what everyone must've gone through, I just felt my body get extremely hot and, well…the only thing I can remember would be the lightening arcs coming off of my body."

"It was a chidori technique. One that even I haven't figured out how to use yet." Her eyes shrunk with shock and she was completely speechless, "You also have some sort of…chakra signal change abilities. They're clearly both from me. Well," he turned to look out her window, " I have the ability to change my chakra signal, but I rarely use it because it was my father's technique."

"Kakashi…" He turned back towards her, Her hands were clasped together over her chest, "I…I can feel you. You're forever in me, pulsing through my veins. It's _your_ chakra that makes my heart beat, _your _chakra that let's me live and breathe." She smiled and cocked her head to one side, this time looking innocent, unintentionally.

"Sakura…" he placed his hand over hers, feeling her pulse beating with his. Their hearts were beating at the same exact rate, "I'm on probation for two months. Apparently I was being 'unruly.'"

She opened her eyes and smiled, "Unruly? For what? Falling for your pupil? Wait…how am I not on probation?"

"I took all of the responsibility from the elders. Luckily, Tsunade-sama actually stood up for us."

She smiled warmly and took his hand up to her cheek, "I think I love Tsunade-sama for that."

"She said that, as part of my punishment, I am to properly train you in the ways of chidori and other techniques I may have transferred to you."

"Oh? What other techniques would you consider?" He smirked and stared at her eyes.

"Actually, I was going to allow you to properly summon Pakkun and the other dogs, since you don't have any summoning techniques. Besides," He sat back and in a relaxed position, "I think Pakkun will like you a lot. After all, he was the one who gave me advice about you."

"What? When did you talk to him about me?"

He chuckled and looked over at the door when it opened. Tsunade stepped through the door with a scroll in hand, "Well, Sakura, it's good to see you awake and moving."

Sakura blushed and bowed slightly to her master, "Thank you Lady Tsunade." The godaime walked over to the bed and placed the scroll into Sakura's hands with confidence.

Kakashi's eyes widened immediately. He knew what that scroll meant. It had been quite a while since he got his from the Sandaime.

"Welcome, Jounin."

Sakura felt her heart flutter slightly, "Wh…What?"

"You have shown that you are capable of handling yourself in a proper manner in terms of Jounin standards. We're promoting you."

Sakura sat there holding the scroll for a few moments, completely speechless, "Th…thank you so much Tsunade-sama!" She bowed so fast that she ended up hitting her forehead on Kakashi's left temple. They both wound up silently rubbing their wounds and respectfully bowing when the godaime chose to leave.

"I'm so sorry Kakashi!" she lifted her hand up to his temple, finding his hand wrap around her wrist and pull it back down.

"You're not strong enough to heal someone yet, so don't try."

She looked down at the scroll in her hand. "So…a Jounin huh?" He nodded silently, "how does it feel to have a strong girlfriend?" she was playing, but he answered seriously.

"It's fantastic. You do realize we're going to be sparring against each other for a while? You'll be training with me for a long time." He kissed her on the forehead where she hit his head and flinched when he felt her hand trace over the scar on his eye.

"Will you tell me? Please?" She had waited and waited, but it was time for him to open up to her.

He smiled softly, moving his head slightly enough to make her hand cup his cheek, "Are you sure you want to know? It's a bit dark."

"I'm absolutely sure." She straightened her body upward and prepared for his story. He sighed and repositioned himself on the bed, giving her one last kiss before he started his journey into his past.

By the end of his story, Sakura was completely bawling and he had to pause a few moments to readjust his unsteady voice, "I have always considered that having his eye still allows him to see the future that he gave me."

"I wonder…" she sniffed when he raised his hand to wipe the tears out of her eyes, "Would Obito-senpai be happy of the future he sees?"

Kakashi had never actually questioned this. In fact, he was rather stunned that she even considered what Obito would think of the future Kakashi had created. He kissed her, gently, "I'm not sure if Obito is happy of what he sees, but I do know that he is glad that I have found happiness. I suppose since his eye is my eye, my happiness is his happiness," he paused ever so slightly, "He deserves to feel the joy that I so selfishly keep when I'm with you."

She pulled him into a hug and smiled, "I suppose I am selfishly keeping my joy to myself. I would never want to share this feeling with anyone else but you."

"Hmm…" he smiled. They both knew it was a selfish statement, but it was a justified statement, at that. He was elated at the fact that she wanted him to all herself. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hmm? What does that mean?" She was slightly concerned. Whenever Kakashi didn't say anything he was either upset or trying to analyze a situation. He cracked another smile and placed his hand on her hipbone.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how pleasant that sounded to me. How…joyful it made me feel." He hugged her with all of the love he had coursing through his body, feeling their emotions filling every space surrounding them.

Tsunade had entered the room about an hour later, forcing Kakashi back into his room.

Sakura stood on the branch, suppressing her chakra signal from being felt by her opponent. She surveyed the field. She knew he was watching out for her, and he knew that she was probably doing the same for him.

Kakashi was crouched under a bush, awaiting another one of her lightening speed attacks. His sharingan was uncovered, and he had a shadow clone hiding in a tree on the other side of the training ground. She had already gotten a few good hits off on him with her brute strength, but he also knew that she was holding back, considerably.

She had definitely gotten stronger, well, more skilled. All of a sudden the memory of Sakura jumping down and kicking Kakashi's clone on the head had filled Kakashi's head. _Well, it looks like I'm going to have to take her on, one on one._

He stepped out of his cover and dashed to the center of the field in a negotiation type of motion. She immediately felt his chakra signal appear and move to the field, following it to the edge of the tree line. Sakura looked to the field and noted Kakashi standing comfortably and lax with his hands on his hips.

She stepped out of the forest and walked cautiously towards her lover. She got within earshot of him and started to comment on the situation, "What are you up to?" Sakura stopped about a foot and a half away from her opponent and placed her hands on her hips.

"I want to make a deal with you." He smirked under his usually place mask over his face. To this statement, Sakura raised her eyebrow and looked at him questioningly. Kakashi placed his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a small orange book, "If I win, you have to agree to do pages 42 through 48."

Sakura smiled in response, "And if I win?" He replaced the book back into the pocket he originally took it out of.

"You may choose what you wish," A mischievous smile broke across her face and her right eyebrow arose ever so slightly. Kakashi responded quickly, "Within reason."

Sakura stepped away giddily and pulled a kunai out of her pouch, "What was that last part? I didn't seem to hear it clearly."

"I said—" Kakashi didn't have the opportunity to finish his sentence. Sakura had charged full speed at him with her kunai aimed at his neck. He raised his right art and knocked hers aside similar to that of a crane styled move. Kakashi lifted his other arm and grabbed her right arm. He slid his foot between hers, ensuring that his leg rubbed her core, just enough to get his message across to her.

Her cheeks reddened a little bit and her eyes felt the urge to roll to the back of her head. His foot shifted to behind her foot and tripped her, pinning her to the ground underneath him.

"Looks like I win." His eyes arced like they would when he smiled until he noticed Sakura's lips twitch upwards into a smile. She wasn't smiling sweetly or sensually: it was arrogant. Kakashi didn't realize it until it was too late.

"Taking a page out of Naruto's book, huh?" He remained motionless when he realized the blade of a specific lacquered cherry blossom sword at his neck. The clone under the silver haired jounin disappeared after a poof of smoke.

Sakura leaned down to her lover's ear and whispered into it sensually, "Looks like I win." Kakashi stood up after Sakura returned her blade to the sheath.

"So, you win, but what do you want for it?" He stood in his nonchalant pose and stared at her.

"Oh…I don't know. Maybe…" She lifted a familiar looking book up and kissed the spine. Kakashi reached his hand around to his pouch and felt the unfamiliar feeling of his paperback companion missing from its usual position. "Pages 46 through 70?" She opened the book to a specific page and held it out for him to see.

Kakashi's eyes widened when he finally recognized the image that was on the page, "Are you sure you can handle all the way from pages 46 through 70?"

"I can. Can you?" She winked at him coyly and, before she even had the opportunity to put his book into her weapon pouch, she was in his arms and they were speeding across the village to his apartment, both smiling the entire way home.

**WOOT! Final chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this story. Thank you so much for your support and feel good vibes! I am going to start some other fanfics, now that I have graduated from college (yay me!) **

**I have been reading the naruto manga and some new concepts have come to me and inspired me to write some more stories. So I may start on some new ones, however my Inuyasha and Avatar fics are in serious need of attention right now.**

**THANK YOU ALL! And if you have any questions or comments that may need some clearing up, feel free to ask! **


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